Pokemon Sagas: Tia's Tales
by KingOGreen2.0
Summary: Experience Tia's adventures in the exciting world of Pokemon. A series filled with humor, suspense, and tons of Pokemon battling action! Tia's story will take fans all over the Pokemon world with new characters and familiar faces from the game, anime, and manga. Updates Wednesday, bi-weekly.
1. Chapter 1: A Journey Begins

Pokémon Sagas: Tia's Tales

"Adventures in Kanto"

Chapter 1: A Journey Begins

The dawn of a new day pours into the modest room of a Pallet Town girl. The light soothes her face, with her crystal clear blue eyes slowly opening. This girl, Tia, sits up to wipe the sleep out of her eyes, is on the edge of a new adventure of her own in the world of Pokemon. Tia was girl with the body of a young woman, sleek black hair, flawless pale skin, and a figure many girls her age envied. Unlike many children, she waited until she was 16 before taking on the Pokemon League.

"Good Morning," she sighs, talking to herself before snapping out of her daze. "That's right, today's the day!" She shouts, throwing herself out of bed, and makes a mad dash down the hall, wearing nothing more than a pair of pajama bottoms, and a blouse she wears to bed. She runs to the steps and begins to descend when she slips on the threshold causing her to tumble down the steps. "Ow..." She says sorely as she reaches the bottom.

"Careful honey that first step is slippery." Her mother laughs lightly, stirring a pot, with a feint concern for her sometimes clumsy, yet durable, daughter.

"Thanks mom..." She stands up, and continues running to the door.

"Honey, aren't you forgetting something?" Her mom asks without giving her a second glance.

"What's that mom?" Tia asks confused.

"Clothes," her mother says plainly with a smile on her face.

Immediately Tia looks down to she was still in her, now ruffled, pajamas. "Ah!" She shouts running back upstairs into her room. Throwing off her pajamas she quickly snatches her clothes. A white tank top; a short, zip down, red hoodie, and black skirt to tie the outfit together. The tank top and hoodie we both short enough to flaunt her slender midriff, and the skirt was just long enough to hide her thighs.

Tia takes her time down the stairs this time before run back the front door. "Much better, good luck dear." Her mom greets her at the door, more approving of this wardrobe.

"Thanks mom!" She shouts running out the door to Oak's Lab.

The weather in Pallet was always so warm and invited this time of year. It was perfect for anyone who wished to escape the hustle and bustle of the cities. This was true for one young man in particular.

A ways down the road a young man, about 16, sporting a black t-shirt, jeans, and a red zipped down vest; with messy, brown hair is kneeling near the edge of Pallet's lake with a small wash rag in his hand. "There we go, all clean. You're going to be the cutest Cleffa anyone's ever seen." He harps over his little, pink Cleffa as it waves its little arms. The young man couldn't resist grabbing his little Star Shape Pokemon, holding it way above his head.

Suddenly, Tia comes charging down the road; not paying attention to her surrounds she slams right into the trainer causing both to crash to the ground; launching Cleffa in the process. "Cleffa!" He shouts in distress, scrambling to catch it. "Oh thank god, you're okay." He breathes a deep sigh, clutching it close to his chest. Tia brushes off the dirt and continues her sprinting. "Hey!" The trainer shouts causing her to turn and start jogging in place.

"What?" She asks in a rush.

"Thanks to you stampeding like a mad Tauros you almost made me drop my poor Cleffa! Apologize to her!" He hold Cleffa out in front of her, who looked a little scared.

"Listen I'm in a rush right now, I don't have time for this." She tries to excuse herself.

"Dammit, I will follow you to the ends of the Earth until you apologize!" He urges, cradling Cleffa in his arms.

"Fine, I'm sorry." Tia tells him annoyed. "Can I go now? I need to get to Professor Oak's lab." She panics about to gun it if he says another word.

"Geez is that all? Calm down, the lab's not going to upping leave on you. Cleffa and I are on our way there ourselves." He says, trying to tame the wild trainer. Tia finally stops to breathe and calm herself.

"Wait, are you a trainer too?" She asks him walking down the road next him.

"Well, more of a researcher, I travel from region to region studying Pokemon." He modestly admits. "I've done work with Samuel in the past." He laughs, rubbing the back of his head.

"Wow, must be a good buddy of yours if you are on a first name basis." Tia looks a little shocked a kid her age is so close to the Professor. A man she herself rarely talks to despite being neighbors.

"Yeah back in Johto I spent a year with him and Mr. Pokemon studying breeding." He tells her, trying not to sound like he was gloating. "That's how I met this little cutey, hatched her myself." He says like a proud parent.

They continue a little ways before reaching the entrance of Oak's lab. As they open the door they are greeted by the hums and beeps of machines, bright flashing lights, and cool air flowing through the room. Looking around Tia spots the professor standing in the back by a table. "Oh, Tia, I'm glad you're here." Oak walks forward greeting her with his usual pleasantries. "And Tom, well this is a pleasant surprise, I wasn't expect to see you." He says grinning at his Cleffa, who is all too familiar with him.

"Nice to see you too, I just sailed into Kanto a few days ago and thought I'd pay you a visit." Tom says, seeming more professional than his easy going demeanor from before. "Cleffa really wanted to see you too." He laughs as Cleffa waves her arms as if to say hello.

Prof. Oak smiles and waves back. "Well, I shouldn't leave our aspiring, new trainer waiting; come get your first Pokemon." Prof. Oak gestures Tia to the back table where three Pokeballs sit, making her excited to choose. This decision will mark the beginning of her grand adventure in the world of Pokemon.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, this marks the end of my end of the first chapter in my series. I really hope you all liked it. I hope you all give it a read, follow, and leave your thoughts on story, characters, or my writing overall.

I fully intend to publish a chapter once a week. This is a bold declaration I know, but don't worry I'll do it. At the time of submitting this first chapter I have written the first 40 chapters of this series and 3+ side stories; I'm still not even halfway down either. So I hope you all enjoyed and I look forward to continuing here on FanFiction.


	2. Chapter 2: A Pokemon and A Partner

Chapter 2: A Pokemon and a Partner

"Here you have three choices." Prof. Oak says as he opens the Pokeballs which shoot out beams of light which manifest into Pokemon. "The Grass and Poison type Bulbasaur, the Fire type Charmander, and the Water type Squirtle." Prof. Oak explains.

Before Tia can get a word out Tom interrupts, "They're so cute!" He sets Cleffa down and watches her talk to the Charmander with a cheery grin on his face.

She laughs awkwardly, "Anyways, who should I choose?" She studies each Pokemon carefully one by one still mulling the decision over in her mind.

"Each Pokemon has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Bulbasaur has the best type advantage early on, Squirtle has the best defenses, and Charmander is the heaviest hitter not only physically but Special wise too, but suffers from a poor typing early on." Tom says just starting forward at each without taking a second to think. "But you know, that's just one guy's opinion." He smiles looking back up at her.

Tia stares at him stunned. Tia can't help think it's no wonder he's an associate of Prof. Oak. "Well, I know who I'm choosing." She kneels down next to Tom; looking over them all once more before focusing on Bulbasaur. "Will you be my partner Bulbasaur?" She asks it, it responds by jumping in her arms. It affectionately nuzzling itself in her chest. "That tickles," she laughs, holding her new Bulbasaur in her arms.

"You girls will get along great." Tom smiles with a toothy grin before grabbing Cleffa and standing. Tia's surprised he knew its gender; she had no clue Bulbasaur was a girl, but after he analyzed them earlier it shouldn't be that surprising.

"Well it's all settled then, here's Bulbasaur's Pokeball. I know you'll take great care of her." Prof. Oak says as he gives Bulbasaur one final pat on the head before saying goodbye.

"I will professor, don't have to worry about that." She says with a certain determination in her eyes; the kind Oak had seen many times before. The same burning passion every great trainer before shared.

She begins walking out the door, Tom following suit. He quickly turns around, "Nice seeing you again Samuel, tell Gary I said hi." Tom states with that same level of professionalism he used before.

The young trainer take her first steps outside, "My journey starts now, let's go Bulbasaur!" She set her Pokemon down as they start running off and straps the Pokeball to a belt she wore over her skirt.

"Wait!" Tom shouts, making Tia stop dead in her tracks.

"What's the matter?" She looks around in confusion not thinking she might be forgetting anything important for any trainer's quest..

"Where are your supplies?" He asks, hoping she had considered that.

"What do you mean supplies?" She scratches her head, not quite sure what he meant.

"You're kidding right?" He drops the bag he was carrying on his back. "Sleeping bag, potions, Pokeballs, food, change of clothes." He shows her all the basics he carries. "Come on, the wild isn't going to be luxurious." He rubs his forehead at her lack of foresight.

"Oh, guess I didn't think of that." She feels silly thinking about it now.

"Clearly," he says rather dryly, not hiding the fact that he pretty much just insulted her.

"I guess I should go home real quickly then." She says running home, Tom following close behind. She reaches her front door where her mom stood waiting with a warm smile. "Hey mom, I'm just back to pick up some supplies." She smiles, with a goofy grin.

"I know dear, that's why I took the liberty of packing a sleeping bag, pajamas, extra set of clothes, clothesline, some food, a couple potions we had lying around, and a map." She smiles, handing over the bag to her daughter. "Oh who's this young gentleman?" She notices Tom behind Tia.

"Tom, ma'am, I'm glad to see someone was here to help her begin her journey." He says with a condescending glance at Tia, again, like he's some sort of professional.

"Oh, how polite, my daughter can be impulsive and might forget things from time to time." She laughs gently which only makes Tia blush. "Though if it isn't too much to ask, may you please help my daughter get her bearings? I worry you see." She very politely asks like talking to someone of her level.

"No trouble at all ma'am. I know this region like the back of my hand, a very nice place, it reminds me of my home in Hoenn." He says nostalgically. This is news to Tia and she's pretty surprised to hear this.

"Oh, a world travel?" Her mother was very impressed.

"Well, more like a researcher," he says modestly, thinking it's no big deal. "I've been all over the world though." He says humbly, but Tia feels like he's secretly gloating.

"Now wait just a second!" Tia finally breaks in. "I don't need a babysitter, I can handle traveling on my own." She takes offense to being treated like a little kid.

"Really, then where's Bulbasaur?" Tom says looking a little cross.

"Right here." She looks down by her leg where Bulbasaur _was _sitting. "Oh no where did she go?" Tia panics before spotting her Pokemon nuzzling against her mom's leg.

"Such an affectionate Pokemon." She laughs looking down at it. Tia looks at Tom who had raised an eyebrow to her.

"Fine you win, you can tag along." She gives up grabbing her Bulbasaur. "Now, let's take on Route 1." She declares pointing at the town exit.

"You're just a power plant of energy aren't you?" Tom asks wryly and completely killing the mood. He sighs, "Fine, onward!" He says with dry enthusiasm and runs after her with Cleffa in arms.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope you all enjoyed the second chapter and please feel free to give your thoughts on the story. Next chapter we'll finally be delving into the training aspect where Tia gets her first taste of what Pokemon battles are really like.


	3. Chapter 3: Training

Chapter 3: Training

The two traveling companions make their way through the lush, green grass of the wilderness on their way to their first destination: Viridian City. The sight of Rattata and Pidgey surrounding the young trainers. A gentle breeze passes through Tia's hair as it gleams in the sunlight.

"It's such a nice day out." Tia says, admiring the beautiful weather. "So, should we get to Viridian soon?" She looks back at Tom, who is observing the environment around them.

"Why the rush, shouldn't you and Bulbasaur do a little training along the way?" Tom asks a little surprised she hadn't considered it yet.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." She laughs and rubs the back of her head. Tom just sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "So who do we battle?" She looks around itching for a fight.

"Hold your Horseas," Tom puts a hand on her shoulder. "Before you attack a random trainer try that Rattata right over there." He mentions and pointing over her shoulder.

"Okay, Bulbasaur go!" She shouts standing her ground while Bulbasaur runs up to the hapless Rattata. She stares down the rat Pokemon awaiting her master's command; for a curiously long amount of time.

"Um... this is the part where you call out an attack." Tom tells her as he really tries to be patient. He could help but wonder if she had what it takes to be a trainer.

"Got it, Bulbasaur Solarbeam!" She shouts proudly. Tom literally face palms while Bulbasaur looks back in confusion. "What happened, why didn't Bulbasaur use it?" She scratches her head; not sure what to make of this situation.

"_God sake,_" Tom mutters under his breath. "Use Tackle for the love of god!" He shouts making sure she heard him that time.

"Oh Tackle," She says blankly and deciding to just go with it.

Instantly Bulbasaur springs into action tackling her foe stunning the Rattata making it angrier. The angry Pokemon begins a charge of its own catching Tia's eye.

"Bulbasaur, watch out!" Without hesitating Bulbasaur dodges before preparing to strike again. "Hit it with another Tackle!" Tia shouts, finding her groove, finally.

Complying, Bulbasaur sends another attack at the rat Pokemon. That was enough to do it; Rattata collapses where it stood causing Bulbasaur cheer. Tia running up to her partner and proudly grabs her in her arms. "That was great Bulbasaur!" She hugs her Pokemon. "It already seems like you're stronger."

Tom claps, walking up to them both. "Great job the both of you." Tom says; Cleffa giving a small cheer herself. "Sorry I yelled, but you have to understand that certain moves have to be learned as your Pokemon grow stronger." He calmly explains to her.

"Oh, so that's why we couldn't use Solarbeam?" She says finally starting to get it. She made sure to commit it to memory and learn when Pokemon learn certain moves.

"Exactly," Tom takes a sigh of relief that she's starting to get it.

"Perfect, so the more training we do the more moves Bulbasaur learns." Tia makes ure she understands."

Tom nods, "Remember that Pokemon can only know four moves at a time though." This was a critical fact for any Pokemon trainer to know.

"Got it! In that case, Tackle!" She shouts and directing Bulbasaur to the first Pokemon she sees: a Pidgey. A direct hit sends Pidgey stammering away, it turns with a sharp eye on the Pokemon who dared to disturb it. With a swift motion Pidgey lunges forward and lands a Tackle itself. Bulbasaur stammers, but recovers with ease.

"Oh someone's angry, good thing that's not stronger or you'd be in real trouble." Tom warns her. Amused as he was he's still carefully calculating type advantage. Normally she'd be at a huge disadvantage against a Flying type.

"Shake it off Bulbasaur and send another Tackle." Tia strategically says. In a split second the Pidgey dodges Bulbasaur's attack and follows up by kicking up sand with its talons. Sand getting in Bulbasaur's eyes impairing her sight.

"Careful Tia, that's Sand Attack." Tom says warily. "It lowers a Pokémon's accuracy."

"Don't worry, Bulbasaur you know what to do" She says feeling superior to the Pidgey.

Bulbasaur shakes her head and goes to attack which unfortunately misses the target. Pidgey takes this chance to strike back with its own Tackle hitting Bulbasaur hard. "Oh no, this isn't good. Please Bulbasaur, you can do it!" Tia panics.

Bulbasaur hears her master's pleas causing her to concentrate and focus on the Pidgey. Waiting and hoping for the right timing. With one final Tackle it nails Pidgey into submission. Bulbasaur sighs heavy now that it's over.

"Yes, we did it!" Tia jumps up and down, grabs Bulbasaur and spins around.

"Another solid battle, but Bulbasaur seems tired. We should probably get to the Pokemon Center." Tom heavy suggests as he looks over the disheveled Grass type. "Viridian isn't far from here thankfully." Tom takes the lead through Route 1.

"I know, I have left Pallet Town before. Just never with a Pokemon to fight with." She explains. "I've never been in a Pokemon Center either." She says feeling like such a novice.

"We all have to start somewhere. Thankfully, you've got me to help." He says with a toothy grin.

"Oh how humble of you." She gives him a sideways glance.

He laughs nervously, "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was bragging." He apologizes.

"You mean: sorry you made it so obvious?" She smirks.

"Oh, we got a smart one here Cleffa." He chuckles which makes Tia giggle a little herself. "I see the city up a head," he points out to a clearing leading to a paved road.

Tom and Tia both eagerly run forward to their destinations: _Viridian City: The City of Evergreen_.


	4. Chapter 4: The Pokedex

Chapter 4: The Pokedex

The two trainers take their first steps into the lively Viridian City and are immediately immersed in the hustle and bustle of the city. Tom spots the Pokemon Center and takes the lead while Tia followed close behind taking in sights of the urban landscape. A huge difference from her Podunk little Pallet Town. Walking into the Pokemon Center they are greeted by a nurse and her Chansey.

"Hello, welcome to the Pokemon Center. How can we help you?" Nurse Joy asks politely and wearing a pleasant smile.

"Nurse Joy, my Bulbasaur got hurt training earlier." Tia says a little more distressed than she probably should be. She shows her the few bruises on Bulbasaur then calls her Pokemon back into the ball.

Nurse Joy lightly chuckles, "Don't worry about a thing your Bulbasaur just has a few scrapes and bruises. It will be fine in no time." Nurse Joy assures her.

"Also, Nurse Joy, could we possibly borrow a room for the night?" Tom asks politely.

"Absolutely, we always have fresh beds for traveling trainers." Nurse Joy very pleasantly responds. She takes Bulbasaur's ball around the counter and hands Tia and Tom a room key. "I hope you two don't mind sharing a room; it has two beds to sleep on and full bathroom." She smiles cheerfully.

"That is perfect, thank you Nurse Joy." Tom returns her cheery demeanor. Taking his key and walking out of the center.

"Hey, where are we going?" Tia walks out confused and following Tom.

"The PokeMart," he says rather plainly and without even looking back at her.

"Oh yeah supplies forgot." She laughs it off.

"_Of course you did._" Tom says under his breath. They walk into the Mart which was packed from floor to ceiling with supplies; Potions, Pokeballs, Food, and miscellaneous things like maps, local guides, and snacks.

"Oh wow, where do we begin?" Tia says in awe of all the supplies.

"First your wallet," Tom says harshly. "Count'em up."

Tia quickly opens her bag pulling out a small purse her mom remembered to pack for her. "Two hundred's all I've got." She gives a shy grin.

Tom just sighs shaking his head. "That'll get you one Potion." He says. Suddenly Tia looks devastated. "Hold on to it, I can cover all our supplies. Pay me back when you can." He smiles to relieve her worries. Tom gets to work on picking out all their supplies, Potions, Pokeballs, the works. The two of them walk out of the store, filling their bags.

"Thanks for helping me so much Tom." Tia says gratefully. "I know I'm not a very good trainer yet." She looks down.

"Don't worry about it. I was a new trainer once too." He puts a hand on her shoulder.

Tia turns her head up, "One second there is something I want to get." She runs back into the PokeMart. She emerges a few moments later with a magazine. "I saw this and thought it'd be helpful." She holds her hands out with a copy of 'Pokemon Trainer's Essentials Guide'.

"Good choice, read it well the advice in there is top notch." He grins with a thumbs up. "Come on, let's get back to the Pokemon Center." The two of them make their ways back to the Pokemon Center. When they walk in a frantic man in a lab coat runs up to them.

"Tia, thank god I found you!" The lab assistant run up to her. "Prof. Oak sent me to deliver this." He holds up a small box.

"What's this?" She opens the small box revealing a small, red electronic device. Tia picks it up and opens it like a folder. Inside it has a screen on the left side and a series of buttons on the right.

"This is a Pokedex, an advance Pokemon encyclopedia. Find a Pokemon and point the Pokedex at it." He instructs her.

"Okay," she smiled and turns around, "smile Cleffa." She points the Pokedex at Cleffa. A second later the Pokedex turns on and lists off type, description, and characteristics. "Wow, that's so cool!" Tia cheers.

"Professor wanted you help him study the Pokemon of this region to see all the new information we can gather." Oak's aide explains.

"I'd love to help." Tia tells him pleasantly, feeling special for having a special job like this. She turns around again, showing it to Tom. "Isn't this awesome Tom?" She asks, absolutely giddy.

"That's great for you, Tia. You'll get a lot of use out of that for sure." Tom smiles happy for her now she has a large responsibility. "Well we should get to our room now, it's getting late." Tom waves goodbye to the Aide, Tia following close behind.

The two of them walk into the room and notice Bulbasaur's Pokeball. Tia runs up to it and reveals her Pokemon. "Bulbasaur look at this!" Tia pulls out her Pokedex and scans in Bulbasaur; showing off the stats on the Pokedex.

Tom set his things down on the bed. "Well, Cleffa and I are going to get something to eat, care to join us?" Tom invites her warmly.

"Thanks, but I need a shower." She laughs, Tom nods and walks out with Cleffa, as Bulbasaur hops on her bed.

Tom steps out with Cleffa in his arms and walks to a local diner. Along the way he pulls out a small device: an X-Transceiver.

He dials up a number and gets a blinking message. "Really, still blocking my calls?" He says out loud. He holds Cleffa a little closer and continues to talk to himself. "How petty are you going to be?" He asks nobody and continues walking.

He walks into the local diner which at the moment was pretty quiet. He sits at the counter deciding what to eat. He places Cleffa on the counter in front of him and scans over the menu. "What do you feel like getting Cleffa?" He asks jokingly and trying to get his mind off the blocked phone call. Cleffa starts speaking making Tom chuckle. "I know, don't worry I have special Pokemon food for you." He pats her on the head and holds her again. He gets a waitresses attention, "Ma'am, we'd like two cheese burgers to go." He says with his usual toothy grin. He waits patiently and begins to stare blankly at his X-Transceiver.

He eventually gets the food and heads out. He feels like this should be good enough for the night and heads back to the room. He hears the sound of running water and Tia's humming from the bathroom. He sets the food on the table with Cleffa and grabs some supplies from his bag. He looks through a local guidebook of the region and takes a few notes. "_It's still a long ways away with the routes we'll be going on._" Tom mutters to himself before taking hold of Cleffa once more. He hears the water shut off and Tia's light footsteps heading towards the door.

Walking out into the room Tia notices Tom sitting on his bed with Cleffa. "Hey Tia, how's the water?" He asks innocently enough.

Tia panics making sure that's she's covered. "Ah!" She shouts turning away from him. "What are you doing back so soon?" She asks flustered.

"We decided on take out. We got you a burger; figured you're hungry." He continues to talk like it's no big deal.

She can just feel that he's staring at her which makes her feel horribly embarrassed. "Stop looking at me!" She shouts still avoiding his gaze.

"But you have such nice, porcelain skin." He says politely as he admires her figure.

"Get out!" Tia shouts.

"Fine, I'll give Cleffa her bath." He takes Cleffa and walks into the bathroom.

Tia takes a deep breath and sits on the bed with Bulbasaur. "Guess it's okay if you see me in a towel, not like you can tell anyone." She laughs letting Bulbasaur hop into her lap and nuzzled against her chest. "Okay, now I need to get dressed." She sets down her Pokemon and grabs her pajamas. Her favorite pair of black pajama pants and blouse. She sits down at the table set by the window and starts eating.

From inside the bathroom Tom washes Cleffa with a soft pink wash rag. "We'll get you squeaky clean, isn't that right?" He coos while Cleffa splashes around in the tub. Then Cleffa turns to him and starts talking to him. "She doesn't need to know." He says calmly, Cleffa continues talking. "Yeah, I know we're going to run into her eventually, I'll think of something, we have plenty of time." He tells his Cleffa; understanding what she's saying perfectly. He grabs Cleffa and dries her off. He brings her back into the room and sets her on his bed. "Okay, now I'll get my shower." Tom walks back into the bathroom.

Tia is still sitting in the chair staring out the window then looks over at Cleffa. "Hi, Cleffa." Tia waves, standing up and sits next to Cleffa. Bulbasaur hopping up onto the bed also. "Have a nice bath?" She asks playfully. Cleffa smiles and speaks to Tia. "Um, I guess that's a yes?" She can't really understand Pokemon, at least not like Tom can. She can kind of understand Bulbasaur, but it seems like Tom can talk to any Pokemon. She pokes Cleffa and chuckles, "You're so soft, it's kind of funny." Tia's not that use to Pokemon yet. It's different dealing with them in real life. Cleffa smiles and jumps up and down on the bed. "Oh, you like bouncing?" Tia starts to bounce while she sits, laughing and making Cleffa bounce higher.

"Someone's having fun." Tom walks out of the bathroom in a towel. Cleffa runs over to him, and speaks to him. "Oh really? Well you are pretty soft and cute as a button." He gets a big smile on his face.

"How do you do that?" Tia asks.

"Do what?" He asks without even thinking about.

"Talk to Pokemon," she says surprised he doesn't think it's odd.

"It's easy, there's a bond every trainer shares with their Pokemon. Plus, I hatched and raised little Cleffa over here. She's with me every day so we've come to understand each other." He smile picking up his pink ball of sunshine. "Try talking to Bulbasaur." He suggests.

"Okay, how are you, Bulbasaur?" She smiles looks down at her Pokemon. Bulbasaur tries talking to her. "Oh I get it, you're tired." She smiles which makes Tom laugh. "What's so funny?" She scowls at him.

"Sorry Tia, but Bulbasaur's hungry." He chuckles again. "They haven't eaten yet. Here, I'll get dressed and feed them." He begins to remove his towel from his waist.

"Ah, little warning!" She whips her head around and tries not to look.

He finishing getting dressed, "Why, I've got nothing to hide?" He says casually. Tom walks over to his bag and pulls out some Pokemon food for the both of them. He grabs Cleffa and puts her on the table with her food and Pokeball. Then sets Bulbasaur's on the floor next to her.

Tia sits down and watches Bulbasaur scarf down the food; she smiles seeing her so happy. Once she was done they were ready for bed. "Okay, Bulbasaur return." She calls her Bulbasaur back to the ball in a flash of light.

"Bedtime Cleffa, which will it be?" Tom asks patiently. Cleffa looks over at him then the Pokeball. Cleffa decides, she walks up to the Pokeball and presses the button returning back to the ball. "Good girl," he gives the Pokeball a little kiss.

"You let Cleffa choose?" Tia asks in surprise.

"I don't mind either way. It's nice if she stays in her ball, but she's still a baby." He says with a very gentle, caring voice. He climbs into bed and flicks off the lights. "Well, good night Tia."

"Night Tom." She lies down in bed and quickly dowses off. All the while dreams of what it'll be like to be a Pokemon trainer flash in her mind.

* * *

><p>AN: We learn a little bit more about Tom in this chapter as well as a little foreshadowing. This is also close to twice the size of any of the previous chapters. Hope you all enjoyed and thank you all for reading!


	5. Chapter 5: Forest Dreams

Chapter 5: Forest Dreams

The lush greens of the Viridian Forest shines brightly on the young trainers as they trek through the tall grass with a mixture of bug types chirping around them. "Wow, Viridian Forest is so pretty!" Tia says in awe of her surroundings.

"Careful though, Viridian Forest is a natural maze, don't want you to get lost in here." He says cautiously keeping close to her. "Wouldn't want the monsters to get you." He laughs.

"There are no such things as monsters." She doesn't let his jokes get to her.

"How can you be so sure? I heard rumors of people who enter and never leave!" He feints a scary voice.

"Stop it Tom no one's kidnapping people." She turns up her head.

"Tell that to the Slenderman." He laughs again before she elbows him in the stomach. "Ow, okay I get it no more jokes." He says rubbing his stomach. "Keep an eye out though, we aren't the only trainers here." He warns her while looking around.

"He's right," a voice says from behind them. They turn around to see a couple of bug catchers. "So you two are trainers too? Then let's battle!" The first boys says anxiously.

"Okay, you got it!" Tia looks at the first boy; itching for a real Pokemon battle. "This will be my first real battle come on Bulbasaur!" She shouts call her Pokemon out of the ball.

"Then it's you and me." The second boy says to Tom.

"Actually, I'm not a trainer. Cleffa and I don't battle." Tom admits, disappointing the bug trainer.

"Oh come on, you have a Pokemon, let's have a quick battle." The kid whines.

Tom sighs, "Fine follow me, we'll give these two some space." Tom says, walking away with the bug catcher.

"Okay, Bulbasaur let's go!" Bulbasaur steps forward, confidently awaiting her trainer's orders.

"Go, Caterpie!" The trainer shouts. "Bug types resist grass types, and are super effective against Grass types." He says feeling confident.

Tia recalls before heading into the forest that Bulbasaur apparently learned a new move. She grabs her Pokedex to check. "We'll see, Bulbasaur try out our new move." Tia points at Caterpie, "Vine Whip!" She shouts. A pair of vine fly out of Bulbasaur's back near the pod and lash out at Caterpie. The attack connects hitting the Bug type hard, but still doesn't seem to have the force she was expecting.

"See I told you," he laughs. "Tackle!" Caterpie runs up to Bulbasaur to tackle her.

"Dodge!" Tia shouts in the nick of time. Bulbasaur quickly jumps out of the way of the charging Caterpie. "Okay, tackle it yourself." She instructs Bulbasaur, who quickly complies with a more powerful blow to the smaller Pokemon. The attack connects with Caterpie sending it flying back.

"Quick, String Shot!" The bug catcher shouts back, Caterpie shots a string of web that sticks to Bulbasaur's feet. "Now, Tackle!" Commanding his Caterpie seamlessly.

"Bulbasaur, brace yourself, don't move!" Tia instructs Bulbasaur stays still and takes the hit. Bulbasaur winces and slides back. "Perfect, counter it with your own Tackle." Tia smiles with victory in sight. Bulbasaur's attack hits head on making Caterpie faint. "Yes, we did it!" Tia cheers grabbing Bulbasaur.

"No way! Caterpie return…" He says defeated.

They suddenly hear clapping from behind. "Good job, Tia, and Bulbasaur." Tom says with Cleffa in his arms; both smiling. "Come on let's go, we don't want to be stuck out here too long." He laughs.

"Here, you earned this." The bug catcher hands Tia some money for her victory.

"Thanks, it was good battle." Tia smiles and walks off with Tom.

The second bug catcher walks up after the two had left, holding his Metapod, which was in much worse looking condition. "What happened?" Tia's opponent says surprised.

"You wouldn't believe it, 'not a trainer'. I don't believe that for a second." He shakes a little thinking about.

"Really that strong?" He's surprised, Tom looked completely harmless.

Tia and Tom continue through the forest. "So how did you beat that guy?" Tia begs the question while walking along the path.

"I just told him that I don't like to battle. Cleffa's a lover; not a fighter." Tom says as he nestles Cleffa in his arms. "I don't even know her move set." He laughs.

"Really, I thought I was a rookie?" She laughs, and pulls out her magazine she picked up in Viridian. "It says here that Cleffa knows Pound and Charm." She looks through the magazine more to get as much information as she can. "This thing is filled with so much stuff, it has an advice panel from Prof. Oak." She looks so interested. "Hey, you've worked with Oak, have you ever had anything published?" She has a feeling he has.

"Yeah, I did a brief expose on breeding." Tom smiles. "It was just a small piece." He says humbly.

"That's awesome, glad I have you as a travel partner." Tia gives him a cheesy smile.

"Really, I thought just the other day you didn't need a partner?" He laughs as they keep walking.

"When that was before I knew how cool you were." She admits while blushing shyly.

"Thanks, Tia. Well, it's been a long day and we're losing sun. We should probably camp out here." He says walking up to a lakebed in the middle of the forest.

"Wait, camping? Like sleeping outside?" Tia asks surprised.

"Of course, didn't bring sleeping bags for our health." He laughs as he sets down his bag. "We can wash up in the lake and I'll start a fire." He starts gathering sticks.

"Maybe I should have chosen Charmander." She teases. Knowing she wouldn't chose any other Pokemon over her Bulbasaur. "While you're doing that, I'll clean myself up in the lake. No peeking!" She shouts, still uncomfortable that she's going to bathe in a lake. Tom walks off and Tia quickly hides by some bushes. She walks up to the water and stick in her toe. "It's cold." She shivers a little before setting her foot in the water. Goosebumps cover her body, she continues walking forward in the cold lake. She finally make it waist deep and can feel herself getting colder. She finally decides to go under and drench herself head to toe, when she comes up her entire body shimmers in the light of the sun. She swims deeper into the water until she's up to her neck. "Much better." She finally starts to warm up, swimming back and forward. "Never thought I'd enjoy skinny dipping so much." She wrings out her hair. "Tom better not come in while I'm here, or I'll kill him." She says and then chuckles a little. "Well, it's not like he'll tell anyone, he's practically harmless. Would it really be that bad? He doesn't care I'm sure." She stops and thinks for a second. "I should stop talking to myself." She rubs the back of her head, embarrassed, hoping no one heard her. She swims to shore and steps out. She walks over to her bag and grabs a dry towel, and slowly dries off her silky, smooth skin. She grabs her clothes quickly gets dressed. She sees a small fire has been started so Tom must be getting more wood and tinder. She spreads her sleeping bag near the fire and takes a seat. Next she pulls out her brush. She uses the fire to help her dry off while she brushes her hair. Bulbasaur jumps into her lap and nestle close to the fire. "Want me to brush you too?" She laughs and runs the brush over Bulbasaur's head. Bulbasaur rests her eyes as Tia's brush glided over her head.

She hears rustling from the bushes, Cleffa comes out with a small stack of sticks and leaves, Tom close behind with a large pile of wood and broken branches. He looks over at her, "Hey Tia, how's the water?" He asks as he wipes a few beads of sweat from his brow.

"Cold," she says calmly with a soft smile.

"Figured, well it won't get any warmer, come on Cleffa!" He runs over to the lake and throws off his clothes. Tia notices for the first time that Tom's actually pretty well built. Not too skinny, but definitely not anywhere close to fat.

She decides to lie down on her sleeping bag, she feels the gentle breeze passing over her. She reaches into her bag to pull out the magazine.

Tom wades through the water with Cleffa. He hadn't taken a nice dip in a lake in a very long time. He enjoyed the feel of nature and all its serene beauty. After about ten or some minutes of swimming he heads back to the camp where Tia awaited.

Tia watches her emerge from the water and quickly whips her head around. "Can't you come out with a towel or something?" She complains feeling awfully embarrassed.

He shrugs, "It's not that big of a deal. I don't care if you saw anything." He says in a way that makes it almost seem like a norm to him.

"What about modesty and decency?" She turns up her noses while he gets dressed.

"Trust me Tia, you wouldn't be the first girl to see me without my clothes on." He says gauging her reaction.

Her cheeks burn red as she shouts. "What the hell is that supposed to me?" She asks not really wanting to know that answer.

"I think we both know what I'm talking about." Tom winks with a sneaky grin.

Tia groans and sits down on her sleeping bag. "God, I'll take back all I said. I'd rather be alone right now." She says stubbornly.

"Then who'd feed you and your Pokemon?" He says with his toothy grin and a handful of food for them all.

"Fine, you win this round," she takes the food and eats quickly. She still stops to think about his comments before. "Now that you mention it though, do you have a girlfriend?" She asks him, curious after what he had said.

"I did," He looks down at the fire, "it's complicated." Clearly not wanting to talk about it.

"Oh sorry, didn't know it was a sore subject." She says tensely.

"It's fine, you didn't know. It's in the past." He says lost deep in thought. "Well, it's late. I'm going to sleep." He sets down his Pokeball; Cleffa decides to return. "Two nights in a row, Good girl." He says climbing into his sleeping bag.

"Night, Tom..." She says quietly climbs into her sleeping bag.

Tia lies down as well, "Good night Tom, sleep well." Tia says softly and turns her back to the fire. This was the first time she really felt like a trainer. She finally knew what it was like to be like those who dared to take on the world with Pokemon by their side. It excited her in so many ways. She could hardly sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Stone Cold Battle

Chapter 6: Stone Cold Fight

The two trainers finally make their way into Pewter City after fighting their way through Viridian Forest. "Man, I thought we'd never get out of there." Tia says relieved to see a big city again.

"Well it was good experience at least." Tom laughs thinking it wasn't too bad, though he isn't the trainer here. "You heading to the Pokemon Center?"

"Yeah, aren't you?" Tia wonders why he wouldn't.

"Well, Cleffa's fine and I want to do some sightseeing." He wanted to see how things had changed since he'd last been here. "After Bulbasaur's been fully healed you should check out the Pokemon Gym." He suggests.

"Pokemon Gym?" She thinks for a moment, "Oh yeah, that's the Pokemon league thing." She remembers feeling silly she forgot in the first place.

"The gym leader's name is Brock, a Rock type gym leader." He instructs Tia as he walks away. "Good luck!" He says and cheerfully makes his way to the museum.

Tom continues walking around the calm city streets. Not much has changed other than a few new faces. He walks into the museum that he spent of plenty of time there in the past. Pewter City's museum hosted one of the largest collections of Pokemon fossils and artifacts in the world. Researchers came from all over to study them.

"So how about you and me talk about Pokemon over dinner?" A man asks a woman over by the fossils. His voice immediately catches Tom's attention. The man was a few years older than him with spiky brown hair.

"Maybe so other time." She says uninterested the guys proposal.

Tom walks up quietly. "Swing and a miss eh Brock?" Tom laughs.

Brock immediately recognizes the voice and turns around. "Tom! It's been too long man." He smiles and pats him on his back. "So what brings you back to Kanto?" He asks surprised to see him again. "Not challenging the league I'm sure."

"I actually stopped by to see Professor Oak and kind of got tied up in other plans." He says hesitantly.

"Well it's great to see you again. Oh and who's this cutie?" He smiles looking down at Cleffa who was smiling cheerfully. "Well aren't you just a ball of sunshine." He smiles tickling Cleffa.

"She's a sweet one that's for sure, I hatched her back in Johto." Tom explains.

"Oh, so this is who the article was written about?" He gets back up on Tom's level. "So what are these 'other plans' you got yourself into." Brock asks suspiciously.

"I'm glad I ran into you actually. A girl's going to challenging your gym; she's a new trainer I've been tasked with helping on her journey." Tom tells Brock knowing that he wouldn't dare go easy on a trainer.

"You and a girl? Tom you sly devil." He jokes nudging Tom's side.

"It's not like that at all. She's a friend I'm helping." He says rolling his eyes and annoyed that Brock was making that kind of conclusion.

"So what about you and-" Tom cuts Brock off.

"I'm not talking about that, got it?" He'd rather avoid the sore spot that is his previous relationship.

"Fine, but she's still pissed. I'm just saying you can't avoid her forever." He warms him. "Especially if your friend is taking on the league."

"I know, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Until then I've got time," he assures Brock. Though he can't help feel a little uneasy that he won't be able to fix things.

"Okay then, well I should get back to the gym. I heard a cute girl is waiting for me there." He teases Tom again.

"Knock her dead, stud." Tom said blandly as Brock runs out. "_He's screwed,_" Tom says to himself before laughing and walking out himself.

Before Tia stood a large stone building surrounded by rocks. "Okay, here it is the Pewter City gym." Tia stares down the gym. "Ready Bulbasaur?" She asks as her Pokemon stands poised. "Perfect," she throws open the doors. "I've come to challenge the gym leader, Brock, to a Pokemon battle!" She shouts then notices the empty gym. "Hello?" She asks only to get an echo in return. "I said I want a gym battle!" Still no reply. "What the hell?" She asks herself. "Well, this is a waste of time. Thanks a lot Tom." She starts walking away when Brock comes running up.

"Wait, don't go!" He comes running up shouting at Tia. "I...I accept..." He pants and breathes heavily trying to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

He finally regains his composure. "I'm Brock the Pewter City gym leader." He grin hoping to impress her. "And may I ask what you name is lovely, young lady?" He asks in an obviously flirtatious manner.

"I'm Tia," she says awkwardly.

"Pretty name for a pretty girl." He says hoping she likes his compliment. "Well, Tia let's not waste any more time and start this battle." Brock escorts her into the gym by the hand. "This will be an official Pokemon League battle, the winner will be determined in a one-on-one Pokemon battle. The battle continues until one Pokemon is unable to battle." Brock explains all the rules of a battle. "The challenger is allow to change Pokemon at any time." He further explains.

"Alright, let's do this Bulbasaur!" She shouts as Bulbasaur runs into the arena.

A Bulbasaur? This could be thinks to himself. "Okay, go Onix!" He shouts throwing a Pokeball. Suddenly, the light erupts into the shape of a giant serpent made entirely out of rock and stone. Its roars practically shake the entire building. While poor Bulbasaur dwarfed it in size.

"Okay, Bulbasaur let's start with a Tackle attack!" Tia makes the first move. She shouts her Bulbasaur who obediently runs up to the goliath of a Pokemon and barely harms it. "What happened?" She asks, surprised that her tiny plant Pokemon didn't hurt the giant rock serpent.

"You're joking right?" Brock asks confused. "Onix's defenses are top notch a simple Tackle won't do anything to him." He proudly exclaims.

"Oh no, what do we do now?" She panics forgetting the obvious answer.

"Tia, this is your conscious. Remember type advantage." The voice instructs.

"My conscious?" She seems surprised. "You sound familiar?" She's more confused than anything.

"Dammit Tom, quit helping her!" Brock shouts looking up at the balcony above.

Tia quickly looks up as he ducks down hoping she didn't see him. "Type advantage?" She snaps her fingers, "That's it." She pulls out her Pokedex and checks Onix's type and its weaknesses. "It's weak to grass types!" She says amazed at her luck. "Bulbasaur quickly-" She stops herself. When she wasn't paying attention Onix jumped on the chance to bind her Bulbasaur.

"This is why we pay attention to our battles." Brock laughs while Tia thinks up a strategy.

"Bulbasaur use a Vine Whip!" She instructs her. Bulbasaur nods and lets two vines sprout from her sides and begins pelting Onix forcing it to release her. "Great Job!" She cheers with a thumbs up.

"Onix Rock Throw!" Brock continues his attack despite the setbacks. Rocks come fall from all around Bulbasaur threatening to crush her. Tia carefully instructs her to dodge and weave through the falling gravel.

Bulbasaur is finally right in Onix's face. "Before he can grab you. Use your Sleep Powder!" As Tia says it spores shoot out of the bulb on Bulbasaur's back. The powder lands right in Onix's face and make it drowsy.

"Uh oh..." Brock realizes the position he's in.

"'Uh oh' is right." She smirks, "Now, Vine Whip him into submission!" She points forward causing Bulbasaur to send her vines flying at Onix who was fast asleep. Hit after hit connects until Brock finally calls the battle.

"Onix is unable to fight. The winner is the challenger, Tia." He says unbiasedly.

"We did it!" She cheers grabbing her Pokemon in her arms. Suddenly, Bulbasaur starts glowing.

She quickly sets her down. "What's going on?" She was a little scared about what's happening.

"She's evolving!" Tom walks up with Cleffa in arms.

"No way!" She was shocked as ever. Tia stood still and started in wonder. Bulbasaur's body was glowing and changing before her eyes. Finally, the evolution completed and her new Pokemon proudly shouted her name. The bulb on Bulbasaur's back was open and she grew in size a little as well.

"She's an Ivysaur now." Tom pats her on the back.

"Ivysaur?" She mulls it over in her mind. "Well you're still my Bulbasaur deep down." She smiles with her Pokemon jumping into her arms. "That tickles." She giggles as she gets use to Ivysaur's form.

"Pardon me, but you did win the match. So, I hereby award you the Boulder Badge as proof of your victory." She sets Ivysaur down and accepts Brock's badge.

"Look Ivysaur, we got the Boulder Badge!" She can barely contain her excitement. "Soon we can take on the Indigo League champion!" She boldly declares.

"One step at a time though. Still seven more badges." Tom reminds her.

"Right, where's the next gym anyways?" She had no clue. She constantly charges blindly so it comes as no real surprise to Tom.

He shakes his head. "Cerulean City, we just have to pass through Mt. Moon to get there."

Brock speaks up. "I'll tell Misty that you're on your way." He looks back at both of them. Though mostly at Tom.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Tia shouts running out the door Tom chasing her down.

Brock gives a contained laugh and walks into a backroom of the gym. He picks up a phone attached to a computer and dials a number. The call goes out to Misty.

"Hey, Brock it's been a while. How are thing?" The red head asks politely.

"Good, listen a girl named Tia is challenging the Pokemon League and will probably be in Cerulean soon." He advises her.

"Cool, I look forward to it. Is that all?" She asks confused why he'd call just for that reason.

"Actually, she's not alone." He says carefully. "Tom's with her." He says cautiously.

"Really he's back? I'm surprised after what happened when he left." She says knowing the full story.

"He didn't want to talk about it. The strangest thing is that he's not battling; just helping this girl." He says confused.

"She any good?" Misty asks the obvious question.

"Not really, she's got potential. However, she's not nearly on the level of other trainers her age." He continues thinking about how underwhelming the battle was and how she only won because of Tom interfering.

"I think we both know who you are referring too. Well, if that's it I'll see you Brock." She waves goodbye and hangs up.

"_What is he thinking away?_" Brock asks himself.

Meanwhile, "Absolutely not!" Tom shouts at Tia. "It's getting late, we're resting before tackling the next route and Mt. Moon." Tom drags her to the center.

"Aw, but Tom, Ivysaur and I want to battle more." She moans.

"Tomorrow, tonight we sleep." He puts his foot down. "We can start heading to Cerulean tomorrow." He says assertively.

"Fine, but I'm so excited. How can I possibly sleep?" She asks still feeling the adrenaline rush from her first gym battle.

"You'll manage," Tom says blandly. "Even trainers need breaks." He explains.

"Fine, but first thing tomorrow we're taking on Mt. Moon" She happily declares with Ivysaur by her side.

* * *

><p>Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and all the foreshadowing. Thank you all for reading and don't forget to leave a review of your thoughts. I'm always happy to read them.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7: Rocket

Chapter 7: Rocket

"Tia calm down, Mt. Moon isn't going anywhere!" Tom shouts as he chases her down.

"But I'm just so excited! I got my first badge and now I want to battle more." She says keeping up a steady pace and plowing through all the trainers on the route.

"What you need to do is catch more Pokemon." Tom grabs her by the arm. "Ivysaur's not going to get you through all your battles you know." Tom says with a serious glance.

"But what about you? You only walk around with Cleffa." She rebukes.

"That's different, I'm _not_ a trainer." He states as plainly as he can. "It's not like Cleffa's my only Pokemon anyway. She's just the one I have with me."

"What other kinds of Pokemon do you have?" Tia asks not being afraid to pry into his business as usual.

"That's not important. What is important is that you need more Pokemon. You can have up to six on you at any one time. Why not take advantage of that?" He says avoiding her question entirely.

"Fine, I'll catch a Pokemon." They continue down the trail to the mouth of Mt. Moon. "Hey, there's a Pokemon Center here. Why did we have to stay at Pewter City overnight?" She whines.

"Because I knew there would be trainers here and it was getting later." Tom rationalizes not wanting to be out all night watching her fight trainer after trainer.

"Fine, I'll go heal Ivysaur, then we take on the mountain." Tia says stubbornly as she walks into the center.

"I'll tell you what Cleffa, it is way too draining be around someone as energetic as her." He chuckles and looks down at his Pokemon. He sits on a bench near the Pokemon Center and lets Cleffa walk around. Another small Pokemon walks up to Cleffa and happily greets her. "Aw, a Happiny." Tom chirps, "What are you doing here little guy?" He asks immediately drawing the little Pokemon's attention. He hops on to the bench with Tom and waves at him. "Now where's your trainer?" He asks pleasantly while shaking his tiny hand.

Suddenly a young girl around Tom's age comes running up. "Happiny there you are, I was so worried." The girl says in a panic. Her hair was a bright shade of blonde, eyes that have a silver glisten, and a pale complexion. "I'm sorry if he was bothering you." She grabs her Happiny.

"It's not a problem at all, he was having fun with my Cleffa." Tom picks Cleffa off the ground.

"Aw, cute." She coos looking at Cleffa. "Anyways, thanks for finding him for me. My name's Anna, you?" She asks warmly as she sits beside him on the bench.

"Tom, pleasure to meet you. First time in Kanto?" Tom asks knowing she was probably from Sinnoh.

"Yeah, I started my Pokemon journey a long time ago and finally made it to Kanto. I was born in Snowpoint." She says confirming his thoughts.

"Nice, I was born in Goldenrod, then moved to Littleroot." He thinks back to his times when he was a kid growing up in the big city just to move to a small town.

"Oh I love Hoenn, the beaches are wonderful compared to the frigid snow." She laughs.

"Yeah no kidding." Tom laughs as well. "Well, good luck on your Pokemon journey, and here's a little something for your Happiny." He tucks an Oval Stone in Happiny's little pouch making him grin with joy. "He's an adventurous one, but he really like you too." Tom smiles at pats him on the head.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." She reaches for a piece of paper and pen and writes something down. "Here, you can have this." She gently puts it in his hand and winks before walking away. Tom looks down and notices it's a number for an X-transceiver, no doubt hers.

Tia comes bursting out of the doors, "Tom, I got another Pokemon!" She declares with a Pokeball in hand.

"Wait how?" He asks with the paper in his hand dainty.

"A man sold me his extremely rare Pokemon, check it out!" She runs into a clearing and tosses the ball into the air. "Go Magikarp!" She shouts as a light burst out of the ball revealing a very plain looking Magikarp.

Tom smacks his hand against his forehead, "You really bought a Magikarp?" He almost couldn't believe it.

"Yeah and she is my new teammate." She smiles holding her new partner in hand.

"That's a male Magikarp." Tom points out.

Tia starts looking him over. "How on earth can you tell?" She asks surprised that one look and he knew.

"Years of practice," he sighs, "Do you even know his moves?" He asks the obvious question any trainer should know about Magikarp.

"Yes, mister smarty pants, it knows Splash. Which I will demonstrate right now." She sets her Magikarp down and points at a Jigglypuff minding its own business. "Go Magikarp, use Splash attack!" She shouts. Magikarp immediately focus with an oddly serious look in his eyes and continues splashing up and down; more aggressively though. "Magikarp, what are you doing? Attack!" She berates her Pokemon, while the Jigglypuff walks away unknowingly.

"Ahem, Splash: the user just flops and splashes around to no effect at all..." Tom recites the Pokedex entry.

"What, to no effect?" She was in absolute dismay. "That lying son of bitch! He said this thing was a powerful Pokemon!" She kicks the Magikarp.

"Hey!" Tom runs over to Magikarp, "You're the one who bought him; you should at least take responsibility and not hit him!" He picks him up and rubs Magikarp's side. "He might not be strong, but he has a lot of willpower I can tell." He feels bad for the poor Pokemon.

"What use is he if he can't even attack?" She complains.

"Look at Ivysaur, she's gotten a lot stronger through training. So will Magikarp." He hands her the Pokemon and picking up Cleffa, but accidently drops the piece of paper.

"Huh, what's that?" Tia asks returning Magikarp to his Pokeball.

"It's nothing." He says before Tia quickly snatches it up.

"Nothing my ass, it's a girl's number isn't it? Tom, you sly devil." She smirks at him.

"She just gave it to me, I didn't ask for it." He snatches it out of her hand and puts it in his pocket. "I'm not looking to pick up girls anyway." He pouts thinking about his previous failed relationship.

"Okay fine, let's just head into Mt. Moon now." Tia leads the way into the mountain. They are surrounded by darkness upon entering. "Wow, it's so dark it's like it goes on forever." Tia observes.

"Careful, it's very easy to get lost in here trust me. Let's stay close." Tom cautions her. By the time he turns around he sees her running off to find wild Pokemon and trainers to fight_._ "_What did I just say?_" He mutters to himself. He begrudgingly walks over to her.

"Hey look that's a new Pokemon!" She pulls out her Pokedex.

"Zubat, the Bat Pokemon. Zubat tend to sleep during the day and reside in dark caves." It spouts off the information to her.

Tom groans, "Here's something I didn't miss when I was in Unova." He rubs his forehead.

"What do you mean?" She asks confused.

"You can't take five steps without running into a damn wild Zubat." He relives the irritation. "Just beat it and move on. You're bound to run into at least a dozen more."

Tia lifts her Pokeball and calls out her Pokemon, "Go Magikarp!" She shouts. "Now I know you aren't able to fight, but I figure if you watch Ivysaur you'll get some experience and learn to fight." She throws her other ball and releases Ivysaur. "Now Ivysaur hit it with a Vine Whip!" She commands. Ivysaur listens to her trainer and whips her vines at Zubat knocking it to the ground. "That a girl! You see that Magikarp?" She asks her Magikarp as he splashes up and down.

"Oh, he seems really excited now." Tom notices and politely rubs the scales on Magikarp. "Boosting his morale will definitely help." He says happy that Tia's starting to get a hold on being a trainer. They suddenly hear an odd rumbling and feel an odd shaking not long after. "What was that an earthquake?" Tom asks himself. Cleffa starts trembling, "Oh no," his face turns to pure dread.

"What's going on Tom?" Tia asks grabbing Magikarp and making sure Ivysaur was close behind.

"Okay men spread out, that's an order!" A man comes running into the tunnel with a huge group of people behind him wearing black clothes with red Rs on them.

Tom and Tia duck behind a wall, returning her Pokemon. They watch the troops running through the cave trapping every Pokemon they see. "Who are they?" Tia asks frightened.

"Team Rocket," Tom grits his teeth. "Notorious Pokemon poachers. They steal and capture any Pokemon and use them as weapons for their own evil doing." Tom punches a wall.

"That's horrible, why are they doing this?" Tia couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Profit, take the best Pokemon and sell them to the highest bidder. It's all about power and wealth for them. They don't see Pokemon as the living beings they are." Tom holds Cleffa close terrified at the idea that someone would steal her away from him.

"I won't let them!" Tia shouts and run out from behind the wall.

"Tia wait!" Tom shouts, but it was too late she was spotted.

"Hey kid get out of here, this is no place for you!" The leader of the squad shouts with his Ekans glaring at her poised to fight.

"Not a chance you jerk!" She shouts and throwing Ivysaur's Pokeball to the ground. In the flash of light Ivysaur comes bursting out in a full on sprint at the Ekans and whips it with a vine.

"You bitch, don't get in our way or you will pay!" He returns his fainted Ekans and calls out a much larger Rhyhorn. "Body Slam!" The large boulder like Pokemon charges and plows into Ivysaur sending her flying backwards.

"Ivysaur, are you okay?" She quickly gets her footing back and nods to Tia indicating that it would take a lot more than that to knock her out. "Okay, send out a Vine Whip barrage! Hit it with all you got!" Ivysaur grins and sends strike after strike. Rhyhorn manages to dodge a few of the attacks and continues its charge. "Perfect," Tia grins mischievously, "Point blank: Sleep Powder!" Spores shot out of the bulb on Ivysaur's back and spray all over Rhyhorn's face causing it to slump over and fall asleep.

"Damn you!" He calls his Pokemon back so it doesn't get beat down further. "Men, get over here we have a pesky trainer who thinks she can take us." The man shouts getting a bunch of Team Rocket members' attention. Within moments Ivysaur was completely outnumbered by Pokemon all shapes and sizes.

"I have no choice, Magikarp we need help!" She sends out Magikarp who hopelessly splashes around.

They start laughing, "Oh no, she's going to Splash us into surrendering." One of the rockets taunts her and promptly gets a hit to the face from Magikarp. "Ah, damn Magikarp that hurt!" He whines and sicks his Pokemon on him.

"Magikarp, was that a Tackle?" She asks surprised. "Okay, dodge then Tackle the Rattata." She instructs her Pokemon. "Ivysaur, stay strong throw some more Vine Whips and Tackles!"

The barrage keeps up for a while Tia barely managing to fight her way through the different Pokemon. It was looking hopeless as more Pokemon kept coming and her Pokemon became more and more fatigued.

"I don't know how much longer we can keep this up!" She panics noticing that their numbers are barely shrinking. "We need a miracle." She says scared that she's going to lose her Pokemon.

A miracle wasn't quite what she got through; the tunnel echoed a loud howl. A burst of fire charges through the tunnel and hit the crowd full on. After the flames die down she sees an Arcanine growling with a very intimidating look.

"Whose is that?" The leader asks with great shock.

"That would be me," A voice from off in the distances says. A man wearing all black with a blank white mask over his face revealing only his right glowing green eye stares the, down. "You best leave before you regret it like the rest." His voice was distorted due to a microphone in his mask that was altering his voice and pitch; which making impossible to distinguish his real voice.

"And why should we, you're just one guy?" The leader says with a cocky grin.

"If you insist. Girl, call your Pokemon back." He calmly instructs Tia. She quietly agrees watching him. "Arcanine," He extends out his arm revealing a white glove over his hand, "Fire Blast." He orders with his same calm demeanor. Arcanine shoots a huge burst of fire out spreading and consuming all the Pokemon around it. Once the flames cleared every one of the Pokemon, even rock types were knocked out completely.

"That's not possible!" The man returns his Pokemon and makes a run for it with the rest of the grunts. The mysterious trainer hops on his Arcanine and in the blink of an eye they were standing at the exit blocking it off. "You! I heard about you! You're that monster of a trainer: Mysterious Trainer X!" He declares barely getting a response in return.

"Correct," This is all X has to say.

"You ruined our plans back in Viridian, now here too?" He shouts furious.

"You seem surprised, tell your leader he won't beat me." He warns them and again in the blink of an eye he vanishes.

"Wow, he's so cool!" Tia admires this new trainer. "Oh crap, Tom!" She panics and goes to check on him. "Tom, are you here?" She runs down the tunnels and back behind the wall they were hiding by.

He's huddled in the corner holding onto Cleffa's Pokeball for dear life. "Oh Tia, thank god! Are you alright." He asks looking frazzled and panicked.

"Yeah, all the Team Rocket grunts fled." She proudly declares.

"Wow, how did you beat all of them?" He asks in amazement.

"Well, it was actually that Mysterious Trainer X who did most of the work." She laughs thinking about how heroically his Arcanine sprang into action and how fast it was.

"Who?" Tom asks confused.

"He's guy with a black suit, a weird voice distorting white mask, and a super powerful Arcanine!" She couldn't help but fawn over how cool he was.

"Really?" He ponders this for a second. "I'm sorry I couldn't help, but you know Cleffa and I don't fight." He feels bad for leaving her to the sharks.

"It's fine, let's just get to the center so I can heal Ivysaur and Magikarp. They both fought great!" She was happy with her Pokemon and how bravely they fought.

"See, I told you Magikarp would get better." Tom smiles and leads the way to the exit of Mt. Moon through Cerulean's entrance. Along the way he stops to think again. "Oh I almost forgot, I found this." He reaches into his back and pulls out a rock. "A Moon Stone, this is perfect for evolving certain Pokemon. Isn't that cool?" He smiles showing it to her.

Although, Tia doesn't quite see the appeal. "That's neat," she feints interest and keeps walking. "How much longer until we get out of here?" She asks a little worried they could get attacked again.

"Just up ahead I think that's the light from the exit right there." Tom runs forward hoping to get out of the mountain cave as soon as possible. Once outside they are treated to the sounds of sirens and Officer Jenny running around apprehending various grunts. "Good to see Officer Jenny has this thing handled." Tom laughs.

"It wasn't Jenny who did this." A guy says as he runs up to Tom and Tia. "It was the legendary Mysterious Trainer X and his trusted Arcanine." The guy proclaims.

"Legendary?" Tom asks skeptically.

"He's like the greatest trainer in the world, some say he's never lost a battle before either. I'm his biggest fan." The rabid fan's green eyes are practically glowing in awe of his favorite trainer. "Did you see him?" He asks excited.

"I did, he's pretty cool." Tia gloats.

"No way, so lucky! Jenny wouldn't even let me in the cave to get a picture." He whines.

"That's enough Jason!" Officer Jenny scolds him, "Leave these trainers alone." She gets between him and Tia. "Move along, the centers not far from here, stay safe." She says politely.

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><p>AN: We had a bit of a long one here, but I am happy to finally introduce two of my favorite characters so far. Thank you all for reading and don't forget to follow the story for new updates every Wednesday. Also, please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts and opinions. Good or bad, I'm always happy to get fan feedback and comments.


	8. Chapter 8: Cerulean City of Blues

Chapter 8: Cerulean City of Blues

Tia and Tom make their way to the Pokemon Center where Tia quickly heals her Pokemon. "Okay, let's head to the gym now!" Tia says anxious as ever. Even after her battle with Team Rocket she is not ready to quit.

"Right now, can't we wait until tomorrow?" Tom on the other hand is more than content with resting.

"No way, it's still day out for crying out loud Tom." She walks out with him lagging behind with Cleffa. "What's with you?" She asks surprised to see him this depressed.

"I just realized something I'd rather not talk about." Tom slumps and hangs his head low.

Tia gets that it's best not to bug him about it so she drops the subject and treks forward to the gym with a spring in her step. She swings the doors open, "I'm here to face the Gym Leader!" Her declaration rings loudly throughout the entire gym..

"Okay, I heard you, geez make a girl go deaf." An annoyed red haired girl stands about five feet from the door. "Listen, I'm too busy right now, come back tomorrow." She says scrambling around with a few Pokeballs in hand.

"What, but I'm challenging the gym," Tia whines. "You have to accept my challenge." Tia's odd sense of self-entitlement gets Tom's attention.

"Where did you hear that? Gym leaders can deny a challenge if it's inconvenient." Tom explains from over her shoulder. He desperately hopes he's not noticed.

"Wait?" The girl looks past Tia and right at Tom. "Well look who decided to show his face!" She shouts with that same fiery temper Tom was used to.

Tom sighs, "Nice to see you too, Misty."

"You two know each other?" Tia asks, "Wait; is she your ex-girlfriend?" Tia looks on in shock that this could be the woman Tom was talking about.

"Oh god no!" Misty quickly dashes any thoughts Tia had with pure disgust.

"Thanks Mist, really necessary." He says dryly. "No Tia, but she is friends with my ex nonetheless. And this is the last we'll speak of it." He groans.

"So you found another girl?" Misty points to Tia who feels the heat shifting to her. "And stop calling me Mist!"

"No! She's a friend that all. I'm not in Kanto to pick up women." Tom explains as simply as possible.

"What about that girl you got the number from at the entrance to Mt. Moon?" Tia chooses the worst possible time to bring this fact up. Misty's eyes glare at him as she wished they were daggers.

"Thanks Tia; that _really _helped." He says making no effort to hide his annoyed sarcasm. "Listen, I want to make amends, but I want it to be from my mouth, so please don't tell her I'm in Kanto, okay?" Tom pleas to Misty with all the sincerity he can muster.

"Fine, only because I have bigger problems than your annoying love life." She scoffs. "Team Rocket grunts have been popping up all over the Nugget Bridge and I intend to stop them." Misty gathers her Pokeballs and runs out the door.

"You heard her Tom, let's go!" Tia chases after Misty.

"Oh no you don't!" Tom grabs her by the arm. "Mist is an expert water trainer; you're a newbie. You'll only get in the way." Tom scolds her, but out of genuine concern for her safety.

"Hey, I fought off those other grunts!" She claims.

"No, that X guy did. You softened them up apparently." He speaks the truth from what Tia told him.. "We're going back to the center, I'm not going to let you go out there and get hurt!" He scowls until she gives in.

"Fine, I don't like it, but if it will get you off my back." Tia says irritated. She wants to do more, even though she's not an expert trainer she couldn't help feel so useless sitting and waiting.

They head back to the Pokemon Center and rest in their room. Hours pass while Tia sits around wishing she could do anything at all. "Calm down, just get some sleep and you can have your battle in the morning." Tom says in a vain attempt to get her to calm down.

"But there are Rocket agents out there and we doing nothing." Tia slams her hand against the counter in a fit.

"There's nothing we can do. Face it you can't take all those guys. Just get some sleep." Tom lies down on his bed and slowly starts falling asleep. His words are harsh, but in the back of her mind Tia knew he was right.

It's the middle of the night and everything is silent in the Pokemon Center. Except for Tia. "Tom are you awake?" Tia asks quietly and gets silence in return. "Perfect," she smirks and silently sneaks out of bed and quickly gets dressed. She grabs her Pokeballs and creeps to the door.

She quickly makes her way outside in the pitch blackness that surrounded her. She silently traverse through town until she found the Nugget Bridge that Misty had mentioned previously. She sneaks around until she sees Team Rocket grunts gathered around. "Look who we found meddling around in our plans." She overhears one of the voices. She gets closer while ducking out of sight.

She sees Misty tied up and surrounded by the grunts. "You'll regret this is I swear!" She shouts as she tries to unrestraint herself.

"Quite the mouth for a captive, I guess we need to teacher her a lesson." One of the grunts call out his Beedrill. Misty stares petrified at the looming Bug Type.

"Please, I hate bugs!" She squirms around trying to escape its gaze.

"Well what do you know our intel was right. The mighty water gym leader's afraid of some simple bugs." He taunts her and laughs at her futile attempts to escape, "Poison Jab!" He shouts.

Thinking fast Tia sent out Ivysaur to knock the Beedrill away with a Vine Whip. "Who did that?" The grunt demands looking around. Tia sends Magikarp next to hit the grunt with a Tackle attack to his face. "Okay, now I'm angry!" He shouts. Magikarp continues floundering around finishing off the Beedrill. He kicks Magikarp off the bridge and grabs Misty by the scruff of her neck. "Get out here now or I swear she'll be going off the bridge next!" He demands.

Tia has no choice but to come out of hiding. "Let her go!" She demands in return.

"You, you did this?" He scowls at Tia while she nods. "Men, get her!" Instantly, a flurry Pokemon come flying out of every Pokeball covering the bridge. He laughs maniacally and tosses Misty off the bridge. "Attack!" He orders with such vigor and malice.

"No!" Tia was too worried about Misty to concentrate on the battle. Ivysaur was getting pounded on all sides by various Pokemon. "Please, Magikarp you have to save her!" She shouts in the water looking for any sign of her Magikarp.

The water under the bridge starts to ripple and rise violently. Misty rapidly surfaces and keep raising out of the water with a waterfall rushing under her.

"What on earth is that?" The head grunt shouts in disbelief.

"Magikarp!" Tia looks up in amazement that Magikarp was now a fully evolved Gyarados. The face he made was full of rage. Immediately focusing on the Pokemon that the grunts were commanding and launches a Dragon Rage at them. "That's amazing!" Tia couldn't believe it. Gyarados slowly lowers his head and drops off Misty.

"Thank you, I don't think I could have made it without you and your Pokemon." Misty coughs up water and tries catching her breath. Tia goes to work on untying her giving the grunts more than enough time to regroup.

"You better call off your Gyarados, or you'll regret it." They quickly realize that they are surrounded. Tia begrudgingly says nothing signifying Gyarados to stand down, Ivysaur as well. "Good girls, now you and your Pokemon are coming with us." The head grunt grins with a malicious smile.

Tia can't help but feel so useless. She knew she was getting in over her head from the start. She went on anyway. She may have saved Misty, but did she actually just delay the inevitable? She lowers her head and awaits her fate.

A small glimmer of hope roars in the distance catching everyone's attention.

"What now?" The head grunt notices the sound of a Pokemon run up with blinding speed.

"I recommend you let those girls go." An odd distorted voice says in the darkness.

"Oh no, you!" His face turns to pure horror.

The moonlight and Arcanine's fiery mane perfectly illuminate Mysterious Trainer X. "I said let them go!" His voice exuded such force it sends chills down Tia's spine.

"What are you going to do there's dozens of us and only one of you." He bolsters like an idiot.

"They never learn," he says with a calm deadpan voice. "Extreme Speed." In the blink of an eye dozens of Pokemon fall in Arcanine's wake. It now stood face to face with the head grunt. "I'll tell you one more time. Let them go!" His single exposed eye looked murderous as it glared at him.

"Fine, take them please just don't hurt me!" He grovels on the ground before X and his unreal Arcanine. The grunt is absolutely traumatized by fear. Almost as if X himself was forcing fear onto him. Manipulating his emotions and contorting his mind into a nightmare.

Arcanine slowly walks over to Tia and Misty. "Get on," X calmly takes them by the hand. Tia and Misty climb silently onto Arcanine's back, before charging off with incredible speed back to Misty's gym. They make their stop and dismount Arcanine.

"Thank you, we owe you." Tia smiles and rubs Arcanine's soft fur.

Misty looks concerned at X. "Who are you?" She gazes at him skeptically. X just stares back at her with little expression in his eye and rides off without a word. "I figured."

"Wait X, I wanted a battle!" Tia shouts to no avail. "What is it with mysterious men that women go crazy for?" She mulls to herself.

Misty begins to walk back into her gym, "Thank you, Tia. You saved me." She says gently, but is still a little shaken by the night's events.

"Hey, X did most the work." She humbly dismisses Misty's praise.

"I mean you saved me from drowning, I would have been a goner if it weren't for that Gyarados of yours." She turns around and embraces Tia.

Tia is surprised by Misty's affection to say the least, "Um, you're welcome. It's alright you would have done the same thing." She says awkwardly.

Misty lets go and blushes, "Sorry, I got a bit out of hand, but I mean it, I owe you. So tomorrow first thing in the morning I'll give you that gym battle you wanted so badly." She smiles.

Tia's face lights up, "Thank you, Misty!" She grabs her hands and smiles widely. "I can't wait, I'll definitely earn this badge, and without Tom's help." She adds confidently.

"Good to know, I don't want him in my gym anyways." She grits her teeth.

"Why is there so much bad blood between you two anyways? He seems like a perfectly nice guy; harmless even." Tia still didn't get why Misty was so mad at him.

"Because when he left, he upset my friend. She hasn't been the same since." Misty makes a fist.

"Okay, I have to ask; who is this girl that he was dating?" Tia finally address the elephant in the room.

"A little late for gossip isn't it you two?" Tia hears a voice speaking softly into her ear. She nearly leaps out of her skin and turns around so see Tom looking very irritated.

"Ah Tom!" Tia tries to recover, amazed how he snuck up like a ninja. "I couldn't sleep is all," she lies.

"Uh-huh sure, so you just decided to walk out of the center and to the gym." He asks feinting ignorance, "You also just happened to run into Mist and you did nothing else." He continues with is calm interrogating voice.

"Yeah..." She says shakily.

"Bull!" He shouts causing her to leap with much unrest. "You went after Team Rocket didn't you?" He asks, pissed that she's trying to lie to him.

"Fine, I did, because I didn't want to sit around doing nothing like you!" She shouts back getting in his face.

"That was stupid; you're not ready to fight like that. Luckily Mist was there to help I'm sure." He scolds her with this vicious side that Tia has never seen before.

"You're wrong! I would have drowned if it weren't for her." Misty says putting her hand on his shoulder.

He looks over surprised, "Really?" Misty nods, Tom looks back at Tia who was expecting an apology. "I didn't know, sorry." He swallows his pride.

"That's right, you didn't know." She snaps back at him, "Misty and I are having our gym battle in the morning too, and you're not allowed to watch." She says like a little kid refusing to share a toy.

"Fine, see if I care. You need to learn to walk on your own two feet anyway." Tom says insultingly. "One thing though, what happened in my past is none of your damn business. Got it?" He walks off and back into the center.

"Jerk!" Tia shouts. "Sorry Misty, I don't know what's up with him." She sighs and shrugs her shoulders.

"Its fine, believe it or not he's calmed down a lot since we last met." She laughs a little ahead back into her gym. "I'll see you in the morning." She waves Tia goodbye. Tia walks back to the center and lies down without a word to Tom and falls asleep. The excitement from the day's events still rung in her mind. She can't seem to get X out of her mind either. He's powerful beyond belief. It was almost terrifying, but captivating as well. Regardless, she slowly slips into sleep so she'd be well rested for the coming battle in the morning.

* * *

><p>AN: It goes without saying, but I love writing X. I hope you all enjoyed and thank you for reading. As always I welcome anyone to review and share their thoughts.


	9. Chapter 9: Torrential Battle

Chapter 9: Torrential Battle

Tia wakes up bright and early in the morning to greet the dawn. She gets dressed and notices that Tom had already left. This is for the best, she didn't want to have to deal with him right now anyway. She grabs her Pokeballs and heads out of the Pokemon Center. She's greeted with a gentle breeze and a horizon lit up by the rising sun. The ground glistened as the soft dew on the grass shimmered in the light. This was the quaint and subtle beauty of Cerulean City that many loved so much.

Tia stops to admire the weather as she quickly heads to the gym where she sees Misty sitting outside waiting; letting the soft wisps of fresh air pass over her.

Misty turns to her and smiles, "Tia, I'm glad you could make it."

"Thanks, I can't wait to get my second badge." Tia has an air of confidence about her since she knew Ivysaur could level any Water type in her path.

"I like your confidence, but I have a request." Misty looks to Tia with a little uncertainty. "I know that your Ivysaur will easily beat my Water types. That's why I want to have a battle with your Gyarados." She requests with a soft smile. This is a true test of Tia's skill. Misty wouldn't learn much about her opponent when she was at the clear disadvantage.

"That's a great idea, I want to see how powerful Gyarados has become." Tia is absolutely giddy to fight Misty and earn her badge. "I'll warn you though I won't go easy on you." She winks and laughs.

"Good, wouldn't want to beat you _that_ easily." Misty retorts while goading Tia with a smirk. She casually leads her into the gym and through a hallway. The walls are lined with aquariums and large tanks housing many Water types.

"We'll use the pool for our battle." She gestures to the large pool of water with small platforms floating around in it located in the center of a large arena with high risers all around.

"Wow, this is so cool!" Tia resists the urge to take a swim in it. "Come on out Gyarados!" She tosses her Pokeball above the water and unleashes her giant sea serpent of a Pokemon. Gyarados roars proudly as he serpentines through the water.

"Then I'll start with my Staryu." She calls out her star fish Pokemon. "Now for the formalities." She says under her breath. "This is an official Pokemon League gym battle. The challenger and the gym leader will battle until one team is unable battle. The challenger may substitute their Pokemon whenever they choose. If the challenger wins they will be awarded the Cascade Badge as proof of victory." She spouts off the usual terms of a battle. "But I'm sure you knew all this already so let's not waste any more time." Misty gets a look of determination in her eyes. "Okay start off with a Water Pulse!" Staryu jumps out of the water and sends a blast of water at Gyarados.

Gyarados brushes off the attack and roars. "Good job Gyarados let's try our new attack. Dragon Rage!" Tia commands and Gyarados roars as he gladly sends a large burst of energy from his large, threatening mouth towards Misty's unprepared Pokemon which blasts Staryu directly.

"Nice hit, but don't think I'll let you get that lucky again, I'm just testing your mettle." Misty smirks, "Okay Staryu time for our all-out offensive!" Staryu spins like a disc through the air flying right at Gyarados. "Let's see how well you can dodge this." Misty laughs. Staryu flies around pelting him with Rapid Spin after Rapid Spin. Misty's all-out offensive was certainly that and more in Tia's experience.

"Come on Gyarados," Tia worries while her Gyarados takes a bunch of hits from Staryu. "Okay focus and Bite Staryu!" Gyarados whirls his head around trying to catch Staryu in vain. The damage keeps piling up as Gyarados's massive jaw snaps at Misty's Pokemon. He finally gets a hold of Staryu and bites down hard before tossing it the water with a large splash. Staryu slowly surfaces and flies out even more aggressively. "Gyarados go under!" He dives down into the pool with Staryu close in tow.

Under the surface Gyarados continues to swim and serpentine to avoid further hits from Staryu. Misty's Pokemon is very persistent however. Gyarados was slowly pick up on Staryu's pattern of movement, as was Tia, but still continued to lose health little by little.

Tia gathered Misty's strategy was to slowly chip away at her opponent's health and exhaust them. A stark contrast to Tia's much more up front and aggressive style she'd gotten used to. She had no choice, Tia needed to adapt a new strategy if she wanted to beat Misty.

Tia stopped to think for a moment and quickly thinks up a counter offensive. "Gyarados, I want you to jump out of the water." Gyarados looks towards his trainer and complies. Gyarados emerges from the pool and flies up into the air.

Misty looks up as Gyarados's scales shimmered against the droplets of water. "Aren't Water types amazing?" She admires the beauty, but doesn't stray too far from her thoughts of battling. "Follow him Staryu!"

Staryu does just that and tears out of the water like a saw blade. Tia smiles; glad Misty fell for her little trap. "Gyarados flip in the air and whip Staryu with your tail." Gyarados quickly backflips in the air and swats Staryu to the ground. "Now, while it's down: Dragon Rage!" Tia felt confident this would be the decisive blow on Staryu. Staryu attempted to recover, but couldn't react fast enough to stop the oncoming burst of energy Gyarados had unleashed.

"Impressive, but don't think this battle is over yet." Misty calls back her Staryu and grabs her second Pokemon. "Go, Starmie!" With a bright flash of light a Purple Staryu with an extra set of arms emerges. "Now, Swift!" Starmie immediately sends out a barrage of stars flying towards Gyarados.

"Dodge!" Tia panics as she tries to keep up with the attack's staggering speed. Gyarados does his best but it's like the stars were drawn to him like a homing device. Direct hit, it wasn't much, but all the hits are starting to get to Gyarados. "What just happened?" In lieu of what just happened Tia had to know.

"Like it? Swift can't miss, sure it's not that powerful, but it adds up." She grins with an advantage over her opponent. More of Misty's tried-and-true offense she'd demonstrated so far.

"Then I'll just have to hit you harder! Dragon Rage!" Gyarados's attack manages to catch Starmie after much effort. Tia gives a thumbs to Gyarados, "Great job, now make sure you stay a safe distance away!" She carefully instructs Gyarados who dives back under water and serpentines through the wading water.

"Don't let him get away Starmie." Starmie chases after Gyarados through the water with a large splash as it spins violently.

Tia grins, "Just what I wanted. Now, Dragon Rage again!" Gyarados to strike as he coils around Starmie. He quickly turns and blasts Starmie point blank. "Looks like Starmie down. Didn't think that'd work twice." Tia says victoriously.

Misty smiles softly, "Starmie use Recover." Starmie starts to glow and slowly heals itself of most of its injuries. Tia was staring in disbelief at the revitalized Starmie. "Swift," This is all Misty has to say before hitting Gyarados point blank causing him to faint.

"No way!" Tia still couldn't believe what she saw. She calls back Gyarados. "You fought well Gyarados." He may have fainted, but surely he did put up one hell of a fight.

Misty nods, "You're Gyarados is no push over. Glad to see you aren't either." Misty's coy smile definitely showed her approval.

"Alight then I guess that just leaves Ivysaur." Tia calls out her last Pokemon. Her ever reliable starter stands on one of the platforms in the middle of the pool. "Don't let the water worry you Ivysaur." Starmie immediately comes flying at Ivysaur who had very little room to move. "Use your vines to grab it!" Tia hopes her plan works. Sure enough Ivysaur gets a firm grasp on Misty's Pokemon.

"Starmie, use Swift again. This time don't let up!" Starmie unleashes a barrage of stars at Ivysaur who was forced to take each hit.

"Ivysaur hold out a bit more and start whirling you vines around in a circle." Ivysaur starts spinning in a circle and rapidly builds momentum. "Now release!" On Tia's command Ivysaur loosens her grip and lets Starmie fly off like a top. Starmie continues to fly unto it's stopped by wall while it found itself wedged into. "Finish it with a Sleep Powder." This was to prevent it from continuously using Recover.

The battle is essentially over. At this point Misty would just be saving Tia the effort of pummeling her Starmie. "Great match," she concedes; calling back Starmie. "As a gym leader I'm to give this badge to a trainer who proves herself. You did that excellently Tia." Misty walks up and hands her a badge from her pocket.

"Thanks Misty, maybe we can have a match again sometime?" Tia smiles as she adds the badge to her case right next to Brock's Boulder Badge.

"I'd really like that." She says with a gentle smile. To Tia's surprise Misty gives her a quickly peck on the cheek and walks off with a wave. All while flashing that same enticed smile. Tia stands there for a second and holds her hand against her cheek in amazement. She feels her cheeks warming up and quickly walks out of the gym without a word. Her mind quickly retunes to her victory over Misty and how she is now one step closer to beating the Pokemon league.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you all for reading and hoped you enjoyed. Please feel free to review and give me your thoughts on the story thus far. This was the first chapter that really required a pretty substantial amount of rewriting. It's even almost twice as long as it originally was. I just wanted to highlight what a battle in my mind should be like. This is a taste of how battles will operate in the future when it's not just a bunch of grunts.


	10. Chapter 10: A Date?

Chapter 10: A Date?

"I'll tell you what Cleffa that girl is stubborn as a Tauros and a skull thicker than Marowak's!" Tom vents his frustrations. While he says all this he realizes that this pretty much applies to both Tia and Misty. He sighs, "I need a drink. Let's get some tea at the cafe." Tom suggests making Cleffa cheer. He could complain all he wanted, but the weather at least left him in high spirits. The two head to a quaint little café that sat near a small river.

They walk into the café and take in the soothing atmosphere. Tom orders a cup of tea and a small glass of juice for Cleffa. He takes his seat and watches the water from the river sparkle in the morning sun. The light shines in on him making his eyes and hair to shimmer. He stares with a distant look in his eyes. He is so wrapped in a nostalgic feeling that he fails to notice a few girls checking him out and whispering to each other. His attention is pulled when he sees a small figure running up to him. He looks down and spots a Happiny.

"Well look who it is," he smiles and picks him up. "So where's Anna this time?" Tom playfully speaks to Happiny.

"Happiny!" Tom hears a girl's voice come from the other end of the café, a voice he's all too familiar with. Anna runs up and notices who is holding him. "Tom?"

"Hey," he smiles and returns her Pokemon, "Care join us?" He chuckles and waves a hand at an empty chair invitingly.

A couple minutes pass and the waitress brings them their drinks. Cleffa drinks from a small bent straw joyfully. After a small elegant sip Tom looks back up at her. "Honestly didn't expect to run into you again so soon." He is pleasantly surprised and happy to be in friendly company.

"Same here, with everything going on with that Team Rocket I thought it'd be best if stayed in Cerulean for a couple days. Saffron's completely shut off down south of here." She tells him. This surprises Tom a great deal. "But enough about that," she laughs cautiously trying to change the subject to a much lighter topic.

"Yeah, so I was meaning to ask. How has your journey gone?" He politely takes an interest in her adventures thus far.

"Good, I spent a while travelling through the Sinnoh region collecting all the badges and challenging the league." She humbly admits. "Although, I quickly realized I didn't want to be a trainer, so I traveled to Hoenn to try to be a coordinator. Not the best idea in the world for a girl with two left feet." She laughs, making Tom laugh at her joke as well. "So now I'm exploring Kanto, because I found out that I want to be a breeder." She smiles warmly at her Happiny.

"Sounds like you've had a lot of experience in the past." Tom is happy to see someone his own age is just as worldly as he is. "Me, I'm just a researcher." He jokes. "I've spent a lot of my time away from home and travelling to all the different regions." He thinks about all the many adventures he's had and all the Pokemon he's met. "The highlight was when I was able to study with Professor Samuel Oak and Mr. Pokemon themselves." He says with great enthusiasm. "That's when I hatched this cutie." He coos and tickles Cleffa.

Anna's eye suddenly widen like something just hit her like a ton of bricks. "No way, how didn't I see it before?" She says out loud drawing his attention.

"What's up?" He tilts his head in confused.

She quickly scrambles and digs into her bag before she pulls out an old issue of Pokemon Monthly. On it was a picture of Professor Oak, Mr. Pokemon, and a slightly younger Tom holding his Cleffa. "I've read your article at least 100 times." She says adamantly. "Your article is the reason I wanted to be a breeder." She says trying not to sound like a raving fan girl.

"I'm flattered, but it wasn't really much." He says humbly.

"What do you mean it took up five pages? It's amazing!" She exclaims before quickly regaining her composure. "I'm sorry, it's just I always wanted to meet." She blushes wildly and averts her gaze.

Tom thinks for a moment and finishes off his tea. He stands up which catches her off guard. He extends a hand down, "Here, let's go somewhere more private to talk." He pleasantly takes her trembling hand. They both walk out side by side and head to the pier beyond the Nugget Bridge.

"I'm sorry about before." She looks at her bright red face as she looks out at the water.

"Don't be, honestly I'm surprised I have a fan." He chuckles as he stares off at the water with the same distant look as before.

"A fan, yeah... I guess I'm a fan." She looks down almost disappointed.

Tom looks at her reflecting in the water and sigh, "You're a great girl in all..." This catches her attention and makes her look back over at him.

"Th...Thank you..." Her voice trails off as she continues to blush wildly.

"I'm sorry, the reason I came back to Kanto was because I had a girlfriend, but I messed things up and now I want to try and make them right again." He says knowing that this probably won't make her feel any better.

"I see..." She says giving off the slightest bit of disappoint she is desperately trying to conceal. "I guess I should have imagined it would be too good to be true." She says mournfully.

"Don't feel bad, you'll find some guy. A girl as pretty as you are will have no problem getting whatever guy you want." He tries cheering her up, but quickly realizes that approach only works when someone is consoling a friend; not someone who is harboring a crush. "Here, I'll be right back."

A couple moments later he walks up with two ice cream cones. "I hope you like Vanilla." He smiles with his infectious, toothy grin and offers it to her. They take their seats on a bench nearby and continue to gaze out at the crystal clear waters.

"I'm sorry I put you in this awkward position." Anna apologizes.

"It's fine, again I'm flattered." Tom is more cheerful about this situation which makes her smile again.

"I've never had a boyfriend before, so I guess I just had a crush on you figuring we'd never meet in real life. You know, like how every girl has some celebrity crush that they know they'll never have a chance with." She finally laughs feeling silly looking at it in retrospect.

"I know what you mean. I had a crush like that once." He smiles nostalgically.

"Really, who?" She laughs almost not believing it.

"That's a secret." He winks just to tease her.

"Hey, that's not fair. I told you so it's only fair you tell me." She pretends to pout and jokes back with a childlike argument.

"Fine," He finally gives in and takes a deep breath and leans in close to her ear. He whispers near silently into Anna's ear and feels a little relieved to have said it.

"Seriously?" She asks in shock and more than a little surprised. "No offense, but why her?" She didn't want to question Tom's taste, but the lady in question definitely had a bit of a reputation about her.

"She's a great trainer, and only two years older than me. I remember the first time I saw her battle; it was before I started my journey. I was with my dad at a Pokemon League conference and she was with the former gym leader. Eventually, she had a chance to battle some other trainer and the way she fought was amazing. I'd never seen anymore command Pokemon with such calm vigor." He himself begins to realize he is acting like an obsessed fan boy. "Sorry, I was rambling." He rubs the back of his head awkwardly and eats the last of his ice cream.

Anna shakes her head, "You're fine; I know that feeling. Like Butterfree in your stomach." She laughs and swallows her ice cream as well. "Well, I guess I shouldn't bother you any further." She stands up.

Tom relaxingly stands up as well. "Hey, it's fine. You're not bothering me at all." He tries to make her feel better; hoping she doesn't think she's feeling like a pest.

She shakes her head once more, "It's fine; I need to get going anyways. I hope you have good luck making up with your girlfriend." She says happily without jealousy.

"Thanks, and good luck to you too." He smiles.

Before she walks off she swallows hard and approaches him. "If it doesn't work out, please call me." She says almost desperately while trying not to shake like a leaf. "Maybe... maybe then we could have a second date." She smiles gently making Tom realize.

"Tea, Cerulean pier, and ice cream. Yeah, that's about an average Cerulean City date." He laughs trying not to feel bad for himself or her.

She looks into his eye as he meets her gaze she silently leans forward. In that very moment he could have stopped it, but he could feel it. Her emotions: desire, jealous, and heartache. He knew for her sake that it was okay. She gently lays her lips on his as he caresses her cheek tenderly. He knew he owed her at least this much. The kiss lasts a few fleeting seconds, but feels like an eternity in her mind. Once they separate her face had a flash of bright red on her soft cheeks. Looking back at Tom he wasn't mad or surprised. His soft green eyes said everything. He looked very happy and that's all she needed. She quickly walks away leaving him to turn back to the water which shimmering like crystals.

"_I'm sorry..._" He whispers to himself as he pulls a photo from a couple years back. He just smiles with a blank stare and puts in back in his pocket.

* * *

><p>We finally have a bit more of a Tom-centric chapter this week and learn a bit more about his past. I also really enjoying writing Anna's character. Thank you all for reading and please feel free to leave a comment about your thoughts or comments on the series.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11: Can You Diglett?

Chapter 11: Can You Diglett?

"What do you mean you won't let me in?" Tia shouts at the guard blocking the way to Saffron City.

"Listen girl I have orders not to let anyone in or out of the city." He is beginning to get more and more annoyed with her pestering.

"By who?" Tia stands her ground impatiently awaiting a response.

"Gym Leader: Sabrina." He snaps back.

The doors open and Tom comes walking through, "Can you maybe call her up and see if she'll let us in?" Tom tries to be polite about it.

"If it'll get you out of my hair sure!" The guard has had about enough of this and picks up a phone attached to a screen. Sabrina's face pops up on screen. "Ms. Sabrina?" He asks shyly.

"What is it?" The Psychic gym leader looks quite cross.

"Two trainers wish to enter Saffron. Should I let them in?" He asks as Tom and Tia appear behind him.

Sabrina's eyes widen and scowl at Tom. "No one is allowed in, no exception. Furthermore," she points at the screen, "that man is to never be allowed in my city!" She shouts sending chills down all their spines.

"Sabrina, now you're just being unreasonable!" Tom shouts.

"Go to hell Tom!" She shouts and hangs up the phone.

"Well that could have gone better." He sighs. "We should probably go." Tom says defeated. They walk out of the guard building with their heads hung low.

"What did you do to piss her off?" Tia asks still a little shocked.

"What did I do to piss off every girl in Kanto?" He groans rubs his forehead.

"Yeah, Tom I'm sorry I got so mad. I shouldn't have been prying in your business." She says humbly and pats him on the back.

"It's fine, I was being a jerk; I admit it." He smiles and extends out a hand. "Friends?"

She smiles and shakes his hand. "Friends," She looks around a bit. "Now what do we do?" She begs the obvious question.

"We can take the underground tunnel to Vermilion City." Tom suggests.

"Perfect!" She smiles and begins to charge off. "Wait a second," She looks closely at Tom. She steps closer and runs her finger over his lips. "Is this lipstick?" She asks in shock.

Tom blushes furiously, "There's a very long story behind it." He panics.

"So I'm working to get my gym badge and you're off having a date?" She asks disgruntled.

"I was, but the kiss was… How do I explain it?" He thinks of how he can possibly justify it. "Hold on, there's lipstick on _your_ cheek." Tom points accusingly.

She remembers how Misty had kissed her. "Yeah about that. Tom is Misty…" She doesn't know how to phrase it.

"Oh yeah," he laughs knowing exactly what Tia's thinking. They walk off into the tunnel on the way to Vermilion. All the while Tom tries to delicately explain the situation.

"So let me get this straight, this girl read your article and developed a crush on you thinking it was harmless enough, but then she met you and felt compelled to try? While you still want to patch things up with your ex, but you didn't want to hurt her feels. Am I right?" She asks trying to wrap her mind around this.

"Exactly, come on we've all had these teenage crushes before." He admits.

"Yeah…" Tia says before letting herself say more.

"I won't ask." Tom at least wants to respect her privacy.

"Thanks," she smiles softly. "That doesn't mean I won't ask." She smirks.

"This doesn't mean I'll tell either." Tom gives her a snarky grin of his own.

They continue their small talk as the end of the tunnel approaches. The two finally see the first gleam of light from outside. Vermilion City was in their sights. The big city greets them as people hustle and bustle through the steets. The S.S Anne was fresh and primed in the port for all to see. "Wow the S.S. Anne is even bigger in real life!" Tia looks on in amazement at the sheer size of the luxury cruise liner.

"Yeah, but the Royal Unova now that's a cruise ship." Tom laughs displaying his worldly knowledge. "Want to check it out?" He checks out her expression as she admires the beautiful ship.

Reality sets in as she lowers her head, "Yeah, but I couldn't afford a ticket to save my life." She says downcast. Tia has always wanted to go aboard a cruise ship, but she never had the money to afford it. A Pokemon trainer could earn the money which was her dad's way of goading her to becoming a trainer.

Tom flashes two tickets in front of her face. "Good thing these don't expire." He grins making Tia's face light up.

She wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face in his stomach. "Tom you're the best." She declares as giddy as can be. "Where did you get these?" She looks over them almost like it was too good to be true.

"A friend of mine gave them to me. His name's Bill; real nice guy if you're ever in Goldenrod City." He flashes a nostalgic grin.

"Why do you have two though?" This question struck a chord with Tom making him frown slightly. "Never mind," she takes back what she said and leaves it well enough alone.

"So you ready?" His mood takes a complete turnaround with a more upbeat tune.

She shakes her head, "I want to look around town first."

Tom shrugs figuring he might as well himself. They agree to meet back up on the pier to the ship and go their own ways.

Tia runs off to the west end of town where a large cave was located. She looks around a bit before heading inside. The interior is stank and dark with a few men in hard hats digging around.

One the men notices Tia and runs up to her, "Another trainer I take it. Be careful this cave is full of hole and pitfalls." He advises her and gives her a hard hat.

"Why's the ground so unstable?" She notices plenty of holes in the ground and eroded earth.

"This is the Diglett Cave. The largest habitat for Diglett in the Kanto Region as the name suggest." He happily informs her as a few Diglett poke out from the ground.

Tia takes one look at them and coos, "Aw, they're so cute." She gushes and squats down in front of one of them. "Hi there little guy." She goes to pet one before it treats back into its hole. "Hey where did you go?" She leans forward and gazes into the hole. Suddenly another Diglett erupts out from behind her and hits her. Tia loses her balance and falls flat on her face.

They can't help but laugh, "Their tricky little things. That's why I gave you the hard hat." He knocks on his helmet to reinforce his point.

Tia gets back to her feet and groans. "I guess this is how they play?" Tia lets it goes with a light hearted laugh. She steps forward and right into another hole where she proceeds to face plant once more. She gets up with fire in her eyes. "That's it, this means war!" She calls out her Ivysaur.

"You know if you put the helmet on you'll be fine." The miner timidly suggests to the now way to angry Tia. She doesn't listen.

She notices a few Diglett's pop out of hole and identifies them as the culprits. "Ivysaur use Razor Leaf on that trio of Diglett over there." Ivysaur takes aim and fires off a few razor sharp leaves at their backs. The trio turns around looking quite angry. "Weird they look a little different from the rest?" Specifically noting that center one was much larger than the regular Diglett she'd seen.

The miner steps back, "Are you dense girl? That's a Dugtrio!"

"A Dugtrio?" She pulls out her Pokedex to investigate it. "Oh it's the evolved form of Diglett that makes sense." She rubs the back of her head with a sheepish laugh. At this point the miner is running for his life. "Hey, where are you going?" Suddenly the ground begins to shake as rubble falls from the ceiling. Tia runs back finally putting on her hard hat. "That's it, I officially hate caves!" She shouts. The Dugtrio burrows into the ground and heads her off. "Fine, if you want a fight then we'll give you one. Ivysaur use Vine Whip!" Ivysaur stretches out her long vines and proceeds to attack Dugtrio in rapid succession.

Dugtrio responds with a powerful Mud Bomb to Ivysaur's face. Ivysaur retracts her vines to wipe the mud from her eyes giving Dugtrio the perfect chance to charge forward with a Bulldoze. Ivysaur stammers a bit before rising to her feet.

"Ivysaur are you okay or do you want Gyarados to take over?" Tia felt like she was in sync with her Pokemon enough to communicate with her like Tom can. Ivysaur looks back at Tia and shakes her head. Tia just smiles and nods, "We're not giving up that easy huh? Alright then charge forward with another Razor Leaf!" Ivysaur runs ahead and unleashes her attack. Thinking face Dugtrio begins to burrow underground. "Quick Ivysaur, Vine Whip!" The Grass type stops Dugtrio with her vines wrapped firmly around it. The Razor Leaf hits dead on and as a result practically knocks out Dugtrio. Tia pauses for a moment. "Oh right!" She reaches into her bag to grab a Pokeball. She tosses it at Dugtrio and calls it into the ball. The ball shakes once, twice, three times, and locks with a ping sound. Tia timidly walks up the Pokeball and picks it up. "I caught Dugtrio?" She takes a second to let it sink in. "I caught Dugtrio!" She cheers having now experienced her first catch. "Ivysaur we did it!" She picks her starter and nuzzles her against her cheek.

The miner comes walking back up, "That was a pretty impressive battle. Just don't try something that reckless again." He begs her.

Tia laughs and apologizes, "Sorry and don't worry I'm done caving forever." She tosses off the hard hat and heads out of Diglett Cave with Ivysaur by her side. She embraces the fresh air and stretches. "I guess we should go find Tom now so we can check out the S.S. Anne." Tia can barely contain her excitement.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to leave comments about your thoughts on the this chapter and the series. Fun fact: this chapter was originally combined with the next chapter and this whole Diglett Cave portion did not exist. I added this because I didn't want Dugtrio's appearance next chapter to seem shoe horned in. Also, I love this chapter title. I love puns, especially Pokepuns.<p> 


	12. Chapter 12: Thunderous Battle

Chapter 12: Thunderous Battle in Vermilion City

Tom continues his way around town thinking back to all his past adventures. "God I forgot how boring this town can be. Nothing to see other than the fan club and the gym, which reminds me," he takes a glance at the gym. "Surge isn't here. What is he up to?" Tom asks himself curiously. He walks up to the front doors. "Locked," he scratches his head, "weird that's not like Surge at all? He's always in his gym." Tom was thoroughly confused by this. He notices a passerby and flags them down. "Excuse me sir, do you happen to know where Lt. Surge is right now?" He asks the older man politely.

"The lieutenant, I think I heard someone say he's on the S.S. Anne right now?" The man rubs his beard trying to remember.

"Thank you sir, much appreciated." Tom says politely. He runs off to see if he can't find Tia. She comes walking out of the center right as he passes by. "Tia, just the girl I wanted to see." He says jokingly.

"What's up?" She asks a little confused by his rush to find her.

"Surge's on the S.S. Anne, you can ask him for a battle there." Tom smiles; seeming awfully happy too.

"Cool, but why are you so excited?" She could help but ask.

Tom looks forward anxiously, "Lieutenant Surge is tough, but a real nice guy. I really want to see him again." Tom looks cheery and never once breaks his wide, toothy smile.

"Okay, I'm really when you are. Which seems to be now." She laughs and walks alongside him. They continue their walk before Tia accidently bumps into a careless man with a camera. "Ow sorry," she apologizes before seeing the guy she hit.

He looked familiar somehow, "Hey, you're that girl who that's with X?" She realizes that it was that Jason guy she met at the exit of Mt. Moon.

"Oh yeah you're that Mysterious Trainer X fanatic. Jason wasn't it?" She says in somewhat demeaning tone.

He takes offense to that, "I'm his number one fan, not just some fanatic!" Jason shouts trying to safeguard his rather eccentric fanboyishs.

"But isn't fan in this case derived from fanatic?" Tom points out knowingly got Jason beat.

His green eye glow sharply. "I'm not a stalker or anything!" He defends himself further, though no one had accused him of that.

"You're just everywhere he is." Tia chuckles as Jason grew more flustered by the second.

"So are you! How do I know you're not X?" He accuses like he's trying to change the subject.

"Hello?" She motions over her breasts, which are large enough that covering them to look like a man would be nearly impossible. "Besides you have the same eye color. Also you and him are never in the same place at the same time." She has him pegged.

"Trust me, I wish I was X." He says admirably. "Anyways I have to go I have a ticket on the S.S. Anne and I want to add Surge's signature to my collection of autographs of every Kanto gym leader." He says with a twinkle in his eye.

"You some people collect gym badges?" Tia says feeling silly that someone would go to all the effort to get a signed piece of paper.

"No way, signatures have much more value. Plus that's a lot of work." Jason whines. He walks over to Tom, "Plus, I have some picture of some of the girls in swimsuits." He grins holding a few copies of pictures.

Tom blushes, "You don't say?" He nervously takes interest.

"Oh yeah; Misty, Erika, and Sabrina." He winks. The pictures are tame enough, Misty in her famous mermaid costume, Erika in a modest floral print one piece, and Sabrina in a stunning lavender bikini. "Here most guys like Sabrina's picture you can have it free of charge." He winks and pats him on the back.

"Tom!" Tia shouts. "Why should I expect anything less?" She sighs and gives up.

"Hey, he gave it to me." Tom defends putting the picture in his pocket before taking a glance at the picture. He thinks about the memories he holds in that pocket.

"I don't see you complaining." Jason says with a smirk.

"No wonder she's pissed at you." Tom frowns at her with her little side comment.

"No offense Tia, but maybe you should shut up about things you don't know." He says with a strange spiteful pleasantness.

She just stares at him not sure what to say. She couldn't tell if he was mad or not. The tone was calm, but the words definitely had a sharp stinging edge to them. "Sorry," she squeaks out like a scared mouse.

"Anyway let's get on the S.S. Anne." He smiles and pats her on the back. The three of them walk off towards the luxurious cruise liner. Tom and Jason both flash tickets and the man happily lets the group on. "So where is the Lieutenant?" Tom looks around at the oddly vacant halls.

"Maybe he's on deck?" Tia suggests and walks over to a set of stairs. She'd memorized the layout of the vessel hoping that someday she'd get to be on it.

"Come on, get a move on men." They hear the sound of faint shouting down a level.

"That sounded like him." Tom notices and begins following the voice down stairs.

Once down stairs they catch a glimpse of Surge commanding a bunch of men in familiar black uniforms. "Team Rocket," Tia exclaims getting the Lieutenant attention.

"Hey what are you kids doing down here?" He asks angrily. Then his mood seems to change. "Wait, Tom is that you?" He looks at least happy to see his old friend.

"What's going on here?" Tom shoots Surge a piercing look with anger in his eyes.

"So you haven't heard?" He grins as he towers over all three of them. "You see, I'm one of the Three Beasts of Team Rocket now. We're _taking care_ of Pokémon so they can reach their full potential." Surge says pompously.

"You bastard, you're kidnapping them!" He shouts and grabs him by the collar of his shirt. "I respected you!" Tom is practically in tears.

"Such a whiner, I thought you'd be tougher than this. Ironic, she made you soft I guess, but when you abandoned her she became one tough bitch." He laughs at Tom's misery.

"I didn't abandon her, why does everyone keep saying that?" He growls.

"That's it I'm tired of this!" Tia shouts impatiently. She throws her Pokémon and reveals Ivysaur primed for battle. "Surge I wanted a gym battle, but I guess beating you here and taking a badge will work just as well." She smirks.

"Huh," he looks over at Tia enticed, "I like this girl's spirit." He smiles with a menacing glean and throws Tom off of him.

"Tom, Jason; get out of here. I'll take care of him." She says confidently.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Jason grabs Tom and slings him over his shoulder.

"So what are you his new girl or something?" Surge teases her.

"As if, now I want my battle!" She says confidently.

"Your funeral," he pulls out a Pokeball. "Come on Voltorb!" He shouts. A Pokémon that resembled a Pokeball.

"Electric type huh, okay Ivysaur hit it with a Razor Leaf!" She instructs her and releases several leaves that cut through the air right at the electric ball. Voltorb dodges a few of the oncoming leaves with its amazing speed.

"Come on is that all you've got? Voltorb show her a real attack, Spark!" He orders. Voltorb runs forward at break neck speeds and bursts with electricity. Sparks fly in every direction hit Ivysaur dead on and a few stray bolts hit Tia herself. She screams in pain at the force of Voltorb's fearful power.

She holds her arm that was pretty much paralyzed by the sudden shock to her system. "Ivysaur quick; show him our power, Take Down!" She winces once again ordering her Ivysaur.

Ivysaur's frontal charge is met head on as the damage to Voltorb was tough, but so was the recoil. Surge laughs, "That's what I was waiting for. Now Self-destruct!" He laughs like a mad man. On command the Voltorb explodes encompassing Ivysaur and Tia in the blast.

Once the smoke cleared Ivysaur lied fainted in the wreckage with Tia half way out of it herself. She groans and withdraws her Pokémon. She feels something grabbing her by the neck. "It's been fun girly." Surge's voice speaks through the smoke. "Now you're finished!" He shouts completely pissed.

Her eyes look on in horror that Surge was not the one holding her, but an Electivire poised with a Thunder Punch. Before it attacks it sends another shock through her body making her hang limply in the powerful Pokémon's hand.

"No sense in wasting my time with gym Pokemon. Thunder Punch Electivire!" He orders with a demented bloodlust.

Tia looks helplessly, about to accept her fate. "Mud Bomb…" Her frail and fragile voice says. Instantly a Dugtrio comes burst out under Electivire and blast it with a huge burst of mud to its jaw, dropping Tia to the floor.

"You had a Pokémon hidden down there you bitch?" He shouts angrily. "That's it Ice Punch!" He shouts again irate.

"Magnitude Dugtrio…" She says weakly. Her Dugtrio starts shaking the ship around them and hitting Electivire with its attack. The structure finally gives and drops tons of shrapnel. The Electric type is buried and fainted by the reckless attack.

"Oh you're going to regret that." He climbs over the wreckage and grabs her by the neck himself. He mercilessly chokes her, "You might've beaten me, but no one has to know that." He says with a vicious grin. He slowly chokes the life out of her while she just hangs in his arms unable to do anything at all. She sees her eyes blur as everything goes dark.

"Fire Blast!" A weird distorted voice shouts from the smoke. Surge instinctually drops her like a rag doll and avoids the attack.

"Who the hell are you?" He demands.

X emerges from the smoke on top of Arcanine. "Surge, what's happened to you?" He says chastising him. "Do you really want to be that powerful that'd you'd kill an innocent girl and enslave all these Pokémon just to assert your dominance?"

"You're that Mysterious Trainer X aren't you?" He says with a vicious look in his eyes.

"Team Rocket will fall; I'll make sure of it." He says calmly and picks up Tia unconscious form. "Poor girl, this wasn't your fight, but you fought admirably." He cradles her in his arm and lays her on Arcanine's back. "Office Jenny knows everything. Don't try running away I destroyed every escape vessel and detained most of the grunts." He climbs on Arcanine and lets it slowly walk out of the broken remains of the cruise ship.

"You think you won? We will destroy you, I swear!" He screams bitterly; fuming with anger line a Dragon type letting out Outrage.

"Trust me, the other beasts will incur my wrath next." He says with confidence like Surge's words barely fazed him.

X takes Tia and runs up the stairs as the ship continues to crumble.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you all for reading and hope you enjoyed. Feel free to comment and give me your feedback. Well, this chapter took a bit of a darker turn. This is an angle I wanted for the story to show that really it's not all just "oh you beat me; I'll just go now." No, Team Rocket means business, which is an approach that was heavily influenced by the Pokemon Adventures manga.


	13. Chapter 13: Recovery

Chapter 13: Recovery

Tia panics and hurls herself forward. She sweats and looks around the room of the Pokémon center. She examines her body of all the cuts and scrapes. "Damn I'm a mess," she rubs her wounds as she thinks back to that horrifying battle. She reaches for her neck and feels the tender wound left around her throat. A very visible bruise the shape of a hand is all the remains.

Jason walks into her room, "Oh thank god you're awake!" He runs out of the room shouting for Tom.

Seconds later Jason runs back in with food as Tom casually slips in behind him. "How are you feeling?" Jason hovers over her attentively. "When we would you we were afraid you wouldn't wake up."

"I feel like I was trampled by a Hippowdon." She moans. "How did you guys find me?" She begs the question. She recalled X arriving and taking her, but the rest was a haze of memories.

"We found you on the pier we don't know how you got there? You were in pretty rough shape." Tom explains.

"We were hoping you could tell us?" Jason was unaware that X was even on the ship.

"It was X," Tia explains, "He saved me from Lt. Surge when he tried to kill me!" She begins to panic and breathe heavily clutching her arms.

"He did what!" Tom pounds the table which makes everything on the table shake. "What's wrong with him has he gone crazy? So he's why you have that mark on your neck." Tom was so angry he could hardly see straight.

"I beat him in a battle though; too bad I couldn't get my badge." She regretfully looks down as a sense of failure washes over her.

"Lucky for you I found this on deck." Jason smiles and produces a small gym badge of Vermilion's. He gently hands her the Thunder Badge in Lt. Surge's stead.

"No way, thank you." She happily accepts it. She wanted to give a bigger reaction, but she hardly had the strength to talk.

"You need your rest first." Tom advises her; slowly supporting her down back onto the bed. He covers her and brushes a few stray hairs from her face. He was so warm and inviting, like a parent and their child. She never really noticed this nurturing side of Tom; now she knew how Cleffa must feel. "Get some sleep Tia." He gently whispers and walks off.

"One more thing Tom," She whispers. "He said he's just one of three." She warns him.

"We'll be more careful. For now; sleep." He smiles and walks out of the room, leaving Tia to her thoughts.

She shakes her head. She thinks to herself that if X hadn't saved her she'd been done for. Slowly her thoughts lead her to one conclusion. She needs to get stronger. She shutters to think what the other Three Beasts will do and who they are as slowly falls asleep.

Tia tosses a turns a bit trying to get comfortable after a few hours. She was sleeping peacefully until her body started aching. She opens her eyes and sits up. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a figure sitting in a chair on the opposite end of the room with one leg crossed over the other. Her vision is hazy, but she notices the distinguished black suit and blank white mask. "X?" Tia's voice was weak and raspy. The figure turned towards her and stared blankly with their single exposed eye. The figure then tilts their head as if confused. Tai then lies back down feeling she no long had the strength to stay awake.

The next morning Tia wakes up with a huge pain all over her body. She's just lucky nothing was broken. She slouches out of bed and tries to find Tom. In the main room of their rented room in the center she sees Tom sitting to a cup of tea; staring out the window and at the picture in hand. He notices her out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, you sleep well?" He asks without breaking his gaze.

"More or less," She shrugs and rubs her body.

Tom passes her a cup of tea. "This should help; people say this herbal tea is supposed to help with injuries." He offers her a cup without once looking at her.

She gently sips it and enjoys the sweet taste it has. "It's good," she says with a weak attempt at small talk.

"That's good to hear," Tom's too lost in thought to be concerned with her at the moment.

"So this is what people mean by taking a picture will last longer." She chuckles finally getting an odd look from Tom.

"Yeah I guess so… I remember when they took those pictures. She kept complaining that a gym leader shouldn't have to stoop to that level. It took Misty, Erika, and me to get her to actually do it." He chuckles at the picture of Sabrina.

"Wait, you were there?" Tia asks surprised.

"Yeah, it was about a year and a half ago now." He smiles nostalgically

"So you two were friends?" Tia is surprised after the less than warm reception she gave him.

Tom pulls out another picture. He shakes his head, "More than that…" He finally admits.

"Wait, she's your ex-girlfriend?" She was stunned that he dated a gym leader.

"Yeah, we first met at a gym leaders' conference. She was with Saffron's former leader and I was with my dad. I was like nine and I saw her fight for the first time. She was amazing, that's when I developed a bit of a crush." He stops and laughs thinking about how childish he was back then. "Once I started my journey I always had this aspiration maybe someday meeting her. I finally got my wish when I first visited Kanto. That was the first time we met for her. I was too shy as a kid to talk to her so she didn't notice me at all. It was love at first sight." He smiles again with a single tear. "Then I was offered a chance to meet with Oak and Mr. Pokémon in Johto and I don't know. I just don't know what happened? I went to Johto and called her; to my surprise she was mad and didn't want to talk to me anymore." A few more tears escape his eyes.

"Tom, I had no idea." Tia has nothing to say to this. She can't think of anything to say. She looks at his other picture. "I had a boyfriend once and things just sort of end with us too. So I know it hurts. The difference is you two have a shot I'm sure." She reassures him.

"Mind if I ask?" He says timidly.

"I guess you and I aren't too different. He was my crush too." She swallows hard. "Gary Oak." She finally admits.

"Gary, really?" Tom bites his finger trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?" She pouts.

"Nothing, it's just my god if there we ever two people as impatient it would be you two." He finally laughs.

"Yeah, yeah I've heard it all before." She pouts. "I gotta ask though. What do you see in Sabrina?" Tia asks more shocked than anything that a guy like him would be with a girl like her.

"The heart wants what the heart wants." Tom smiles with soft grin, "She was stern, strict, but still one of the most determined people I've ever met. Plus, she was really sweet when she wanted to be and she has _other _talents." He laughs; instantly making Tia uncomfortable.

"I will kill you!" She tries to forget what she just heard.

"I never said I was a virgin." Tom continues laughing.

"That doesn't mean you have to brag about it." She shakes her head like it was to get it out of her mind. "Anyways we should get going. I want to get my next badge as soon as possible." She tells him.

"What are you talking about?" Tom looks completely confused.

"I'm saying we need to get the hell out of Vermilion." She jokes.

"Do you know where we are?" Tom nods for her to look out the window. Sure enough: big city scape, trees, and flowers strewn the streets. They are in Celadon City.

"Wait, how did we get here? Just last night we were in Vermilion City?" She asks completely lost.

"Tia that was two days ago. You were out for at least 48 hours. We brought you here for the aromatherapy." Tom tells her slowly. "We just got in last night. An Abra teleported us here from Vermilion."

"What are we waiting for then, let's go!" She declares and runs for the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Tom sits still.

"What now?" She groans impatiently.

"Clothes?" He points to the fact that she was in her pajamas.

"Oh yeah, wait how I did I get in these?" She knows for a fact that she didn't put them on.

"You have to tell me what moisturizer you use. I swear your skin is smooth as silk." He laughs.

She covers herself like she was just violated. "Dammit Tom! You're a pervert you know that?" She runs past and slams her door shut.

"Oh come on not like I was sneaking a peak at your Cloyster." He laughs to himself.

"I will kill you!" She screams. She finally reemerges fully dressed. "Okay I'm ready to go." She says with a snippy tone.

Tom laughs and walks off with her; Cleffa in arms. They walk out into the warm, scented Celadon City air. It's a very large city and rich with flowers and nature abound. The people took great care in preserving the serenity of their city. "I'm glad to be back, I've missed this city." Tom stretches his arms high. He continues following Tia to the largest greenhouse in town: The Celadon City Gym.

They walk in and are immediately greeted with the gentle scent of the flowers and Pokémon that live inside it. A woman walks up, "Why hello. How may we help you today?" She asks politely.

"Yes, I would like a small bottle of your Lavender perfume, number 47 with a hint of lilac." Tom smiles; getting an equally pleasant grin from the receptionist.

"I must say, I'm impressed that a man would be so well versed in perfumes." She chuckles warmly. "I will be back in a moment if you please." She bows and walks off showing off her pretty, formal kimono.

"Take your time." Tom's mood and spirits are much higher than before.

"Hey, I'm here for a battle not perfume shopping." Tia pouts. "How did you know that exact perfume anyway?"

"Give it time," he chuckles to himself.

True to his word a few moments pass before a woman comes running from the back. "I knew it was you!" The woman laughs as she runs up to Tom.

"Erika, you're looking well." He smiles and gives her a friendly hug.

She lets go of him after a warm embrace. "How come you didn't tell me you were back in Kanto?" She looks a little disappointed.

"Sorry, I've been busy." He feels guilty. "That's why I'm here now. My friend would like a gym battle."

Tia waves, "Can't we have tea first?" Erika asks Tom as if completely ignoring her and hanging off his every word.

"Hey don't ignore me!" Tia's voice seems to fall on deaf ears. "Geez Tom, if I didn't know any better I'd figured she was your girlfriend." She says with a snarky grin on her face.

"Nah, she's more like a sister to me." He says with a big smile that he didn't seem to show off too much.

"We go way back, I remember when we use to take baths together." She wraps her arms around him and snuggles him like a kitten would.

"Wait, I thought you visited Kanto for the first time only a couple years ago." Tia asks a little surprised that he had a history with her too.

"You're right," he confirms her thoughts and says nothing else.

"Okay, creepy visual aside," Tia tries not to imagine him bathing with her. "I want my gym battle!" She shouts finally getting Erika's full attention.

"Very well, we can have our battle, then Tom you and I need to have tea so we can catch up. Oh I want to hold your adorable Cleffa too." Her smile stretch from ear practically. She happily takes Cleffa in her arms, making both her and Cleffa happy. "Please follow me." She leads Tia to the gym battlefield.

"Come out my Vileplume!" She calls upon her floral Pokémon letting out a delicate plume of sweet spore.

"Okay let's go Ivysaur!" Tia throws her Pokeball to the center of the arena and releases her Pokemon.

"Two Grass Poison types huh? This should be interesting." Erika's voice is suddenly a lot more serious as she gives off a more assured vibe then her previous elegant, if not clingy attitude. "Vileplume be a dear and start things off with a Sunny Day." She says as the sun shines down on her making her skin and hair glisten like a jewel.

"Ivysaur, send a Take Down her way!" Tia's orders were much brasher and up front.

Ivysaur charges forward where Vileplume simply dances out of the way avoiding most of the damage inflicted, but still left a mark. "Thank you my dear, now a Stun Spore is in order." She says calmly.

"I knew that was coming, Ivysaur, quickly duck into those bushes and launch a Razor Leaf." She had the whole strategy in mind already. As instructed she did just that and dove out of sight. Ivysaur's Razor Leaf catches Vileplume by surprise and hit directly in its back.

"Very clever, this may be an interesting battle after all. Vileplume dear, you look awful. Please use a Mega Drain." She suggests. As per request Vileplume spots Ivysaur and begins sapping her of her energy. "Now Sludge Bomb to finish it." Before Tia could even think of a strategy the large burst of poison hits Ivysaur dealing enough damage to knock her out.

"Oh no!" She didn't count on losing Ivysaur this early in the fight. "Return! Now go Dugtrio!" She tosses the Pokeball out and sends her new partner into a battle that he couldn't handle.

Erika looks surprised, "Really, a Dugtrio?" She wasn't sure if she had some plan or she really was that stupid. "It doesn't matter, Vileplume, sweetie please give it a Solar Beam." She asks politely.

Tia looks for a chance to strike since it requires charging up. Before she knew it Vileplume unleashed its attack. "How?" Tia was too shocked for words, until she remembered Sunny Day's ability. Dugtrio was down and out in no time.

Erika looks on in disappointment. "What was that?" She practically spits.

"I didn't expect it to attack so fast." Tia's voice was small by comparison.

"Did you even have a plan?" She demands.

"N...no…" Tia admits defeated.

"Get out of my gym." Her words cut like a knife.

"But I still have one more Pokémon-"

"I will not fight some who isn't even prepared!" She shouts at her without even looking at Tia. "You're a total disappointment! I had heard about your previous battles and this abysmal performance is what I get? You insult me, leave!" Erika practically had fire in her eyes.

Tia quickly gathers her Pokeball and runs out trying not to cry. Erika walks past Tom with her head down. "Don't lecture me," she says with an almost menacing voice.

"Why would I? You're right. To be honest her only other Pokémon was a Gyarados. She didn't have a Snover's chance." Tom's comments were equally harshly.

"Dammit!" She punches a wall. "I really expected better, that was insulting that she thought she could beat _me_ with just some half-assed plan."

"Come on some Jasmine tea will calm you down." Tom says putting an arm on her shoulder and escorting her out.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and please feel free to comment. Also, due to scheduling issues Tia's Tales are going to be moved from 12:00 P.M. EST on Wednesdays. Don't worry it will still be every Wednesday, but I will have the upload time. Until Further notice all new chapters will be going up three hours earlier. So to reiterate: Pokemon Sagas: Tia's Tales chapters will be going up at 9:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesdays. Which I imagine most people will be happy with getting new content sooner :).<p> 


	14. Chapter 14: Reality

Chapter 14: Reality

Tia was all by herself after about an hour of crying in her room she decided to go to the hot springs to calm her nerves. To very little avail it seemed. She feels like she has no options. She didn't know what to do.

"I'll never beat Erika this way." She doubts herself. She sits letting her wounds heal in the warming, therapeutic waters. The incense in the air did little to lift her spirits. "Tom must be disappointed too. I have no right to be a trainer." She starts to cry again. She hears a voice coming into the bath; she ignores it while she wallows in her pity.

"Tia?" The voice catches her attention. Tia looks find Erika walking into the bath. "I wasn't expecting you her." She smiles like the battle had never happened.

"I'll leave you alone." She begins to stand up and walk off.

"Why, I don't want you to leave?" Erika's voice is sincere.

"I thought you were mad at me?" She addresses her as she tries to avoid looking at her. Erika playfully leaned into Tia's line of sight. Tia felt a little awkward with them both just in towels, but Erika was an elegant and frankly beautiful woman. This much Tia even had to admit. Her skin was flawless and shined like a pearl.

"No more disappointed that after all I had heard this is all you had to show me." Erika honestly felt Tia could achieve so much more. She takes Tia by the hand and guides her back deeper into the water. "I take battles very seriously, Tom knows." The two chuckle.

"No offense, but you seem to harp on Tom a lot." This kind of concerned Tia.

She giggles into her hand, "I love Tom like he's my own brother. I haven't seen him in a while so of course I'd fawn all over him." She smiles pleasantly.

"He's a great guy and all, but I don't think of him like a brother. I wouldn't even go as far to say I love him at all." Tia explains hoping she didn't sound mean about it.

"Of course not, you two have two completely different personalities. Tom is a much more laid back person. You are frankly high maintenance." Erika laughs again.

Tia wants to be offended, but it was true. "Yeah I guess you're right." She laughs at herself.

"Make no mistake he loves you though." This comment makes Tia practically jump out of her skin.

"What?" She shouts and quickly covers her mouth in embarrassment.

Erika could no longer hold back a full hearted laugh, "Calm down, Tom loves everyone." She pats her on the shoulder. "It's who he is. He's a loving guy, especially if your name is Sabrina." Erika laughs knowing Tia's in on the joke.

"I just can't understand why her? She's cold, callus, and a real bitch from what everyone's told me." Tia says harshly.

"Sabrina's a tough nut to crack. She's really kind and gentle once you get to know her." She smiles and examines Tia. "Will you stop being so modest, we're both girls her." She tugs at Tia towel to disrobe her.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asks embarrassed.

"You have a wonderful body, why hide it?" She smiles.

"Now you sound like Tom." She says bitterly.

"See? We're like one and the same. That's why he's like a brother to me." She laughs again. "To be serious for a moment here; you need to understand what you are getting into before a battle begins or you might not win. Tom told me you fought Surge and nearly got yourself killed. You should have had a plan." She chastises her for a good reason.

"You're right," Tia stops and thinks for a minute. "Wait if Surge was working for Team Rocket does that mean others might be as well? Like people in the league?" Tia felt a wave of panic hit her.

Erika delicately puts a hand on Tia's shoulder. "That is not your problem to worry about. We'll take care of that. You should just focus on getting stronger and winning the Rainbow badge." Erika's smile relieves Tia even if temporarily.

Thank you, but I don't even have any Pokémon to beat you." Tia admits in defeat.

"So catch one, there's a route outside of town with a Pokémon that might help you." Erika winks at Tia. "You're a good trainer; you just need practice." She compliments her with a bright smile that was practically contagious. "Training on Route 7 will help a lot I'm sure."

"Thanks Erika. I will make sure I get stronger and beat you fair and square." Tia says confidently.

Just then the door opens to the baths and an unexpected visitor walks in. "Oh hey girls, how's it going." Tom walks in displaying no modest as he walks in.

"Ah!" Tia covers her eyes. "Tom, a little warming next time!" She shouts irate and embarrassed.

"Why you're in a towel too?" He points out making her curl up in a ball of embarrassment. "Have I ever told you how cute you look when you're embarrassed?" He giggles.

"I will kill you!" She shouts. She finally gets up the nerve to uncurl herself.

Erika guides Tom as they wade through the water. She sits next to him and wraps her arms around with her chest pressed against his arm. "Tom will you wash my back like when we were younger?" She asks like a little kid wanting candy.

"Sure, why not, want me to wash yours too Tia?" Tom suggests completely innocently.

"I'm leaving!" She barks not wanting to be a part of this.

After walking out Tom grabs a wash rag and begins scrubbing Erika's back. "She's a hand full." Erika chuckles.

"You're telling me. More to the point, we need to talk about what I brought up earlier." Tom advises like his personality took a complete one-eighty.

"Surge's already confessed to all allegations, but Sabrina is vehemently denying everything. Also, many reports say Koga and Blaine have been seen with Rocket agents on a few occasion." She gives him her full report on the situation.

"_Why Sabrina?_" Tom asks himself. Tom wraps his arms around Erika's waist and leans his head on her shoulder.

"I'm just as worried as you are Tom." She empathizes with him. "Our old Sabrina's still in there I'm sure." She tries to comfort him the best she can.

"I know, I feel your frustration." He says solemnly. Not even the calming waters and incense could seem to shake this feeling.

"You still have that strange sense for empathy?" She asks knowing that he has on odd sense of emotional connections.

"Yeah, it's getting stronger too. I can feel people's emotions more frequently now." He says concerned. "It's getting to the point that it's a near constant occurrence." Tom grits his teeth as he explains.

"You're an amazing guy Tom. No wonder Oak thinks so highly of you." Erika says happily.

"I should have never left, and then everything would have been different." He begins to weep. His emotions are in complete turmoil whether he was absorbing other's emotions or feeling his own is getting harder and harder to distinguish.

"Don't think like that Tom, you had a great opportunity. She would have wanted you to go either way." Erika assures him.

He takes a deep breath, "Once Tia gets her badge I need you to get us into Saffron. The guard will listen to you." He instructs her.

"I will don't worry, I want her to snap out of this and I know you're the one to do it." Erika caresses his arm around her. "You still love her…" She says neither confirming nor asking him.

Tom sighs, "Yeah," his voice trails off. "I'm an idiot." He says defeated.

"You're human, Tom." She smiles, "Besides you always have me." She jokes trying to lighten the mood.

"I have plenty of options." He says arrogantly, but is humble enough to know that's not really the case. They both laugh a little. "For now I have to wait. I wish Tia would have beaten you so we wouldn't have to waste time." Tom hopes he didn't offend Erika. He just wanted to resolve this as soon as possible. Especially if more Pokemon and people are involved.

"Hey, don't you want to spend time with your dear, not, sister?" She giggles.

"I do, but your, not, brother has a lot of things on his plate right now." He admits feeling a little anxious. "The least of which being a hyperactive girl who's trying to get a gym badge." They both laugh at this.

"I'm not going to make it easy on her." She says seriously.

"I didn't expect you to. She has to learn somehow. I was just impressed she caught a Dugtrio." He admits.

"I have faith in her." Erika smiles and looks forward. "You need to as well."

"I do," Tom's comment felt half-hearted.

Erika gives him a judging look. "Now I didn't even believe that one."

Tom sighs, "She makes it hard sometimes. It's like she is learning, but other times she misses the obvious." The last battle was a shining example in his mind.

"I'm sure you were not the best trainer when you started either." Erika points out having heard about his past exploits.

"There's still a difference between ten and sixteen." He shakes his head. "I guess growing up she wasn't raised around Pokemon like us."

Erika nods, "There is more to this world than just Pokemon, believe it or not." Erika teases him. "Though, I would like to know what sent her down this path now of all times?" This is a question Tom thought to himself a couple times, but never asked her.

It finally clicks in his mind, "Gary Oak!"

"The former champion?" Erika seems confused.

Tom nods his head, "He's her ex-boyfriend."

Erika follows Tom's logic. "You think she has something to prove to him?" Erika can completely understand given how full hearty and arrogant Gary is.

"That's my guess, but you can never really tell with Tia." Tom lets out a relaxed chuckle. "Thank you, Erika. This has taken a load of my mind, at least for the time being." He stands up and heads out of the hot spring.

Erika sits for a few more moments and thinks to herself. "How in the dark is she?" Erika asks herself rather ambiguously.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and hope you enjoyed. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think about this chapter and the story as a whole.<p> 


	15. Chapter 15: Gamble

Chapter 15: Gamble

The sting of defeat was still fresh in Tia's mind as she mulls around route 7 East of Celadon. "What kind of Pokémon could I find here to help me beat Erika?" Tia looks around to see the usual batch of wild Pokémon common in Kanto. "A Rattata won't help. Maybe a Flying type like Pidgey?" Tia's talking didn't quite fall on deaf ears however.

She hears an odd laugh which alerts her to turn around. "A trainer I see." An old man sits on the ground in a Yukata with a cup of dice. "So you're looking for a good Pokémon?" The old man smiles showing off a gold tooth.

Tia nods, "Yeah, something good against Grass Types."

"Oh yes, to beat Erika. She's quite a cutie isn't she?" The old man gives Tia a slight grin.

"I'm walking away now." Tia was more than a little creeped out.

"Wait!" He panics, "Sorry, don't mind me. I'm just a ramblin', gamblin' man." He laughs and strokes his unkempt, white beard.

"Is there a point to all this?" Tia's patients is growing thin fast.

The old man smiles once more, "If you're looking to catch a new Pokémon and get stronger then how about a little game?" He gets a sneaky grin on his face.

"What kind of game?" Tia seemed a little leery of the eccentric man.

"A wager if you will. We will both have one hour to catch a Pokémon somewhere on this route. Once the hour's up we'll take the Pokémon we caught and have a one on one battle. Since we will have no idea what the other caught it'll be a gamble and force you to adapt to the new situation." This seemed like a very sound plan and great way to train.

Tia gets a determined look on her face, "Okay old guy, it's a bet. We'll meet at this spot in an hour." Tia boldly declares and runs off with a renewed vigor. She runs towards the tall grass down the road and immediately starts shuffling around looking for a good Pokémon for her team. Among all the Rattata and Pidgey Tia spotted a few Oddish and Bellsprout. "I don't really need another Grass Type." She admits to herself. She continues along down the road and grassy patches. Tia stops when she comes across a bright, pink ball in the grass. A Jigglypuff laid peacefully in the field.

"Okay now's my chance," she steels herself for the chance to catch Jigglypuff. "Go Ivysaur." She calls out her Pokémon which wakes up Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff immediately notices its foe and gives Ivysaur a stare down. "Okay, Ivysaur give it a Razor Leaf!" Her command goads Jigglypuff to take a defensive stance. The leaves fly from Ivysaur's back and at Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff smirks and bounces into the air. As it slowly descends it begins to sing. Within seconds of hearing the tune from Jigglypuff Ivysaur was fast asleep.

"Ivysaur wake up or Jigglypuff will get away." Tia panics and shouts for her starter to wake up. Jigglypuff laughs and starts running off. "Wait!" Tia chases after it. Jigglypuff was not quite done screwing with Tia yet. It quickly turned on its heel and bounced towards Tia. With a mighty jump Jigglypuff vaults off the ground and lands on Tia's head before bouncing off again. Tia stumbles and face plants into the grass. "I officially hate Jigglypuff." She mutters into the dirt. Ivysaur slumps over, still a little dazed, and pats Tia sympathetically on the back with one of her vines. Tia springs to her feet, not ready to give up. "That's it, we'll find a Pokémon a million times better than a Jigglypuff." Tia once more runs off as head strong as ever.

She trudges through thicker grass which kept many Pokémon hidden from sight. Although, aside from more Rattata and occasional Meowth she didn't find anything too promising. There was one Pokémon that did get her attention though. An Abra resting against a tree in the shade. Tia quietly crept up on it and readied Ivysaur to attack. "Ivysaur, Razor Leaf!" She shouted this in perfect time to blindside Abra – or so she thought. Abra teleported away in an instant and appeared behind her. Ivysaur chases after it with attack after attack; all to no avail as Abra continues to teleport away.

Tia shouts and kicks a tree, "Why are all these Pokémon screwing with me?" Tia checks the time and is about to give up when she notices a flicker of light in the corner of her eye. She looks and sees a docile, red fox. She checks her Pokedex. "A Vulpix?" It looked cute enough to her and it was a Fire type so Tia resolved to catch it. The Vulpix notices Ivysaur and stands ready to battle. "Ivysaur, I know you're weak to Fire Types so be very careful. I think this will be a good training exercise for us both." Vulpix decides to make the first move by shooting hot embers at Ivysaur. Tia reacted quick enough to tell Ivysaur to jump back and hit it with a Razor Leaf. The hit was clean, but not very effective. This didn't slow down Ivysaur though. She charged forward with a powerful Take Down. The hit pinned Vulpix to a tree which left a mark, but also left Ivysaur open to a full on assault of Embers. Ivysaur backs off and grabs Vulpix with her vines. Tia recognized Ivysaur was taking quite a beating, but she had a plan. "Slam Vulpix to the ground." Ivysaur flails Vulpix around and bashes it to the ground. "Quickly use Sleep Powder!" She needed to make sure Vulpix didn't get another chance to attack and deal a devastating blow to Ivysaur.

Once Vulpix was asleep Tia threw the Pokeball as Vulpix hung in Ivysaur's vines. The ball shakes once, twice, three times, and locks with a ping sound. Tia cheers and grabs the Pokeball. "We catch Vulpix!" Tia couldn't be happier. She checks the time and notices she would have just enough time to heal Vulpix and meet back up with the old man.

A few minutes later Tia returns to where she'd first met the old man. He sat patiently shooting dice, eagerly awaiting Tia's return. "Oh good, just in time." He flashes his golden tooth with a wide grin and stands up. "I must say I'm very excited to see who you caught for me to battle." He holds his Pokeball in hand. "On the count of three we both release our Pokémon." The old man does the count and calls out his Oddish.

At the same time Tia calls out her Vulpix, "Looks like your hand was a bust." Tia felt more confident with the clear advantage.

The old man snickers, "A good trainer knows Type isn't the only key factor in a battle. So let us begin. Poison Powder Oddish." The old man surprises Tia with his sudden offensive. Vulpix is now poisoned, but far from out.

"It's alright Vulpix, we can still win. We just need to be quick about it. Give it an Ember." She instructs her new Pokémon who spits tongues of fire from her mouth. Oddish skitters around avoid a lot of the attacks, but wasn't quite fast enough to avoid Vulpix. "Good girl," Tia is very satisfied with her new Pokémon. Having more speed on her team was definitely crucial to her style of battling.

"Very good, but that poison is really starting to take its toll. Oddish run up there and give Vulpix a good Acid." Oddish continues to serpentine around the battlefield and sprays a blot of acid all over Vulpix. Oddish definitely was not the frontline fighter type. Oddish's style was more tuned for sticking behind and hitting from a distance. That and chipping away the opponent's health with poison.

This gave Tia an idea. "Vulpix use Fire Spin!" A vortex of flames surround Oddish on all ends and slowly burns it with its stray flames. In the end the heat was too much for Oddish to hand and it fainted to the burns.

The old man nods and calls back his Oddish. "A truly wonderful fight Tia." He smiles proudly. "I lost the bet so this is yours." He awards her with a small prize. A bright red stone with a fire imbued in it. "Your Vulpix will make great use of that."

Tia looks at the stone, mystified by its perpetually burning flame. She shows it to Vulpix happily. "He said you can use this?" She lays it down in front of her new teammate which causes Vulpix to glow. To Tia's amazement Vulpix grew and her tails turned into nine, long and majestic tails. Vulpix evolved into Ninetales. Tia was against mystified, this time by the beauty of her new Pokémon. Ninetales's coat shone in the light with a brilliant radiance. "Wow, thanks old man. By the way how did you know my name?" She turns around to see he was already gone. As if he weren't even there in the first place.

Tia thanks him silently and heads back into town. She stops to heal Ninetales and felt intrigued by Celadon's Game Corner. In the memory of the old man she steps inside. To her surprise a very irritated Tom sat at one of the slot machines.

"Oh come on, two hundred coins and not a single payout?" He smacks the machine. "This is why I never had a Dratini as a kid." He pouts.

"Poor luck there Tom?" Tia steps up behind him.

"Talk about the story of my freaking life. You know what? Take my coin case, I'm off this forever." He boldly declares and stomps off.

Tia spots a coin left in his case. "Hey, you still have a coin left."

"I don't care!"

Tia shrugs and decides to give the slot a spin. She looks intensely at it: a red seven, a red seven, and finally a red seven. Jackpot. The machine lights up and rings triumphantly. "Hey I got the jackpot!" Tia cheers and scoops up three hundred coins. She hears the faint sound of Tom shouting in agony at his poor luck. "_Call me Lady Luck._" She says to herself with a bit of swagger in her step as she leaves the Game Corner.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to leave a review on your thoughts about this chapter and the story as a whole. If anyone was eagle eyed enough to notice that this chapter seemed a little different that's because this is actually a new chapter. This was not in the original draft of Tia's Tales. So this is more closely matching my style of writing that I've now grown into. Though that doesn't mean core ideas and certain concepts didn't already exist. I just wanted to make sure Ninetales's introduction wasn't so abrupt.<p> 


	16. Chapter 16: Rematch

Chapter 16: Rematch

It's a new day in Celadon City and Tia's confidence is at an all-time high after catching her new Pokemon. She made sure to be up bright and early for her big match against Erika so she could come up with a good strategy.

"Okay Ivysaur, I still want to open up with you. I'll save you for last Ninetales. I wouldn't be surprised if Erika knew I was coming in with a Fire type so be careful." For once Tia found herself talking like a strategist. Her usual all-out offensive was clearly not going to work on Erika so she is forced to rethink this battle.

Once she had a sound strategy in mind she makes her way to the gym. Inside Erika and Tom were already waiting for her. Tom himself looks excited to see how this battle will turn out.

"I'm glad you could make it. I hope for a great battle today." Erika's tone is pleasant as ever. Her graceful demeanor really betrayed her far more relentless battling style.

Erika leads her to the back of the gym where the arena was primed and ready for battle. The two trainers stood opposite each other poised and ready for battle. "I do hope this battle turns out better than that last one Tia." Erika says with a cheery grin.

"Oh you can count on it. Go Ivysaur!" Tia's starter is raring to battle. "This time will be different." She smirks.

"If you insist, Tangela go!" Erika releases another of her Pokemon. Tia isn't fazed by this though "Let us begin with a Sleep Powder to calm it down."

"Not a chance, Ivysaur you know what to do." On Tia's command Ivysaur jumps out of the way of the oncoming spores and blasts whiff of spores of her own. "Stun Spore is just as effective I think." She chuckles having Tangela cornered and paralyzed. "Now Razor Leaf!" She orders. The razor sharp leaves burst from Ivysaur's back and cut into Tangela.

"Use Constrict Tangela." Tangela's coiled vines extend out and catch Ivysaur's foot. Tia's Pokemon desperately tries to break free, but to no avail.

"If we can't break free we'll just have to take the battle to Tangela. Use Take Down!" Tia order's Ivysaur to charge forward. Tangela wasn't about to let Ivysaur go, but it was also wide open to a full frontal Take Down. Ivysaur's skull slams into Tangela. The vine Pokemon flies back only to be pulled back like a tether ball thanks to the Constrict.

"Tangela dear, Ivysaur isn't getting away so use Giga Drain." Erika smiles pleasantly as always and stares down Ivysaur. Tangela takes advantage of the close distance and charges forward for a Giga Drain. Suddenly, Tangela's body seizes up as it tumbles to the ground. "You're kidding, now paralysis takes affect?" Erika face palms and accepts her poor Pokemon's fate.

Tia's quick thinking resulted in Ivysaur pelting it with Razor Leaf until it fainted. "Talk about lucky huh Ivysaur." Tia smirks at Erika who was not as amused.

"Go my Victreebel!" Erika's next Pokemon is a far more daunting Pokemon. This Flycatcher Pokemon stood as talk as Tia and Erika in size. "Victreebel hit Ivysaur with Acid." Erika's expression turns a bit more aggressive. Ivysaur begins to create a bit of distance between her and Victreebel. Acid flies out of Victreebel's mouth and lobs it at Ivysaur. She dodges, but the splash was still able to hit Ivysaur. It stung, but she wasn't about to give up when Tia called for a Razor Leaf. With a swipe of Victreebel's leaves its own flurry of Razor Leaf intercepted Ivysaur's attack.

"No way, looks like we're going to have to get in closer. Take Down!" Ivysaur charges forward towards Victreebel at great speed. The impact does quite a bit of damage to both sides, but Victreebel shook it off with ease.

"Okay, now Acid once more." Erika gets a mischievous look about her and watches as Acid splashes all over Ivysaur at point blank. "Now Tia surely you had to see that coming." Erika chastises her.

Tia calls back Ivysaur and smiles. "I honestly just wanted to get Victreebel as weak as possible before the true star of the show arrived." She holds up her Pokeball and calls out her new team mate. "Go Ninetales!" The fire fox emerges in an elegant light. Her pelt shines brilliantly in the light. She stands majestically and hones in on her target: Victreebel.

"Impressive, I wasn't honestly expecting a Ninetales." Erika is very eager to fight a true competitor. "Doesn't mean my Grass types will waver. Acid!" Erika commands once more. Victreebel takes the offensive right away.

In a flash Ninetales runs off avoid the attack entire and stops right in front of Victreebel. "Ninetales use Fire Spin." Ninetales shoots tongues of fire from her mouth. Victreebel in engulfed in the flames and is stuck in place with nowhere to run. "Perfect, now that her Pokemon is catch hit it with Quick Attack!" The fire on the field shown in Tia's eyes as her passion for the battle intensifies. After a few Quick Attacks mixed with Fire Spin Victreebel fell to the constant barrage.

Erika calls back her Pokemon and elegantly pulls out her third and final Pokeball. "Let's finish this Vileplume." Erika felt that same excitement Tia was experiencing and she loves it. The thrill of being locked in battle with a truly worthy opponent. Tia brought on this rush. Erika hadn't felt like this in so long. "We will win!" Erika boldly declares and points to Ninetales. "Sludge Bomb!"

Tia smiles, "Quick Attack!" Ninetales runs forward as the Sludge Bomb flies over head. Tia's timing was perfect. Sludge Bomb it the ground and completely missed Ninetales. Meanwhile, Ninetales's blinding speeds proved to be too much for Vileplume to correctly counter and suffers a might blow from the attack.

"Vileplume give me a Sunny Day and follow it up with a Mega Drain." Vileplume summons a blinding light down upon itself and collides with Ninetales, draining her health.

"Not bad, but remember Sunny Day increases the power of Fire type moves." Tia says confidently. "Use Flame Burst!"

Erika chuckles, "I am well aware. Vileplume, retreat into the trees." Vileplume peas out of the way of the oncoming attack and flees into the trees and brush. "Conceal yourself and wait for an opening."

Ninetales looks around and studies her surroundings. Tia quiets her breathing and focuses with Ninetales. For single moment her and her Pokemon are in a perfect sync.

Tom raises an eye brow, "_Impressive, not only did you get a Ninetales, but you two are able to sync like that so soon after catching her._" Tom whispers this to himself as he studies Tia's battle. She's constantly growing and becoming a better trainer. To say it was thanks to him would be both an insult of her skills and a lie.

Tia hears a faint creeping in the brush and focus in on a small bush far left of Ninetales. The two hone in on the target and attack. "Will-O-Wisp!" Tia ordered Ninetales who happily complied. Both Erika and Tom were surprised by this.

"Will-O-Wisp?" Erika seemed genuinely confused. Her Vileplume comes running out of the bushes as it burned. "Why not a Fire Burst?"

Tia smirks, "Because I wanted to force out your Pokemon. You can't play your waiting game if Vileplume is consistently taking damage." Tia explains her strategy with impressed Erika a great deal.

Tom nods, "_That was an expert level move there. Most new trainers would fire blindly or try to blast it every time it appeared like Whack-A-Diglett._" Tia is showing more and more promise with each move.

"Although, Now Vileplume isn't looking to good so I think I should strike now." Tia smiles and is ready to count her victory.

"Not so fast, Vileplume Solarbeam!" This is Erika's last ditch effort to beat Ninetales. A might burst of energy erupts from Vileplume's flower.

"Ninetales give it a Flame Burst!" Tia shouts in the heat of the battle. Her will was not about to give up. Ninetales felt this determination and made her all the more eager to fight back. The beam of light soars forward just to be intercepted by Ninetales's flames. The two constant streams of energy collided and pushed back and forth. "We can do it! Sunny Day will make us stronger and that burn will weaken Vileplume just enough. We will win!" Tia lets out a determined shouted as Ninetale's attack forces back Solarbeam and engulfs Vileplume in fire. An explosion of energy shakes the arena around them and slowly fades in the smoke and dust. The smoke cleared and all that remained was a fainted Vileplume.

Tia stared for a moment, "We did it." It almost seemed surreal to her.

"Very good Tia." Erika refuses to admit defeat though. She draws another Pokeball and begins to throw it. Tom grabs her arm. "Tom, what are you doing?" Erika asks shocked.

"Not here; not now." He looks down at her with a stoic and cold expression.

She begrudgingly agrees and puts the Pokeball away. Tia hadn't noticed Erika's little bout with Tom, which is for the best. She walks up to Tia, "I believe this is yours." She produces a Rainbow Badge for Tia to congratulate her.

Tia snatches it and holds it high, "We did it!" She declares happily petting her Ninetales's golden, silky, smooth fur.

Tom walks up to them both and smiles. "You were great out there. All of you." Tom addresses Tia, Erika, and Ninetales. "Hurry up and head to the Pokemon Center." He instructs Tia with a very serious manner.

"Why the rush?" Tia is definitely excited to get another gym badge, but she was in no rush after the intense battle she just had.

"Because it's time. Now, we head to Saffron City and confront Sabrina." Tom says sternly and with a heavy heart. They both nod looking at him with determination. Tia was not about to lose to Sabrina either. Although, she couldn't ignore the tension coming from Tom. It was foreboding to her.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review on what you thought, I'd greatly appreciate any and all feedback. This was another chapter I had to do massive rewriting for. This is a perfect example of how rushed a writer can get when they want to get on with more important plot points. This was originally a little over 600 words. Now it is exactly 1,700 (minus this blurb at the end.) Next chapter is when things really get serious though.<p> 


	17. Chapter 17: Showdown in Saffron City

Chapter 17: Showdown in Saffron City: A Tale of Love and War

The three approach the guard station between Celadon and Saffron with Erika taking the lead. "Let me do the talking." She giggles.

Tia and Tom nervously follow knowing how sweet, yet strangely intimidating she can be. Once inside the guard shapes up in her presence. "Good Afternoon ma'am," He formally greets her.

"Good afternoon, pardon we wish to pass over into Saffron." Erika sweetly asks the unnerved guard like a Luxray stalking its prey.

"I'm afraid I can't do that ma'am, strict orders from Lady Sabrina." He says with a sweat.

"Really? Tell me, who are you more afraid of: her or me?" She asks with a sharpness that cuts through the air like a knife.

He gulps, "Oh hey look I dropped my key. I sure hope no one takes it and unlocks that door over there with it." He says innocently while trying not to tremble.

"Much appreciated," Erika gives him a coy smile. "Well, I'm afraid this is where we part ways." She smiles and shows concern for her friends.

"Thanks Erika," Tom gives her one final hug and walks off with Tia.

The two walk into the bleak city. No one was outside aside from a number of Rocket Grunts. If it weren't for them people would mistake this for a ghost town. "Tom what are we going to do?" Tia suddenly realizes the severity of this situation.

"I need to have a look around town, be careful Tia." He tells her and runs off.

She decides there's only one thing she can do right now, take on the gym. The gym was one of the large buildings in the city aside from the Silph Co. skyscraper. She takes her first step into the dark menacing gym. A flash of light practically blinds Tia and reveals the Pokémon gym as a whole. A woman with blue-ish black hair sat atop an ornate chair that was placed at the head of the gym. "Who are you and how did you get in my city?" She demands with an icy cold glare to match her tone.

"My name's Tia and I've come to challenge you to a gym battle." Tia hesitates, but raises a Pokeball.

Sabrina continues to glare at Tia further making her uncomfortable. "You were with _him_. Leave! I don't have time to waste on a weak trainer like yourself." She dismisses Tia.

"I'm not leaving!" She shouts, "I will beat you and get my badge, then I get you to give up your evil ways." Tia adamantly proclaims.

"Oh really? You're over confidence with be your downfall." She smirks with a hostile grin. "Go Alakazam," The Pokeball floats in the air and releases her psychic Pokémon.

"A Psychic type, I guess I'll start with Gyarados." She calls out her Gyarados which towns over Sabrina's Pokémon. "Let's start with a Bite." She commands making Gyarados lunge forward towards the opponent.

"Teleport," She says without hesitation. Alakazam disappears in the blink of an eye. "Now Psychic," She says with not so much as a change in emotion. Alakazam reappears behind Gyarados and fires off a powerful psychic burst. The Psychic blast to Gyarados's back takes him by surprise. Tia looks shocked that a Pokémon can move like that. "Energy Ball," Alakazam continues its offensive by hurling a ball of energy enough to make Gyarados topple to the ground. "Now you see why battling you is a waste of my time?" Her voice rises and slowly becomes more spiteful.

"I won't quit!" Tia shouts in defiance.

"Then you and your Pokémon will suffer!" She shouts with a horrifying bloodlust.

"We'll see about that, come on Gyarados use Ice Fang!" She orders. Gyarados coils around and bites at Alakazam. "Now Aqua Tail," Tia grins as Gyarados swings his might tail at Alakazam.

"Maybe there is more to you than meets the eye." Sabrina says not amused. "This changes nothing; hit that thing with another Psychic!" She demands.

Alakazam is seconds from blast Gyarados when Tia grins. "Aqua Tail once more!" She orders pointing at Gyarados. Gyarados roars and whips his tail whit such speed Alakazam is left completely open to the attack and knocking it out instantly.

Sabrina's face is that of one in pure horror, "You bitch! Now I won't go easy on you." She lifts another Pokeball with her telekinesis. "Go Gallade!" Sabrina's whole expression is pure fury at this point. "Psycho Cut, Leaf Blade, and Night Slash!" She orders three attacks at once. Gallade's speed was unreal. It charged forward connect with a devastating Leaf Blade, upper cut with a nasty Night Slash, and finished it off with furious Psycho Cut. Gyarados was down and out before he hit the ground.

"Gyarados return," Tia says urgently. "I have to win this. I need you Ninetales." She calls out her Ninetales who stood elegantly before her opponent.

"Another Pokémon for me to destroy? I'll be happy to assist." Tia could tell Sabrina's composure was slowly slipping away into a demented insanity.

"Enough!" A voice cries from the gym door. The girls look over to see Tom standing determined in the door way.

"How dare you show your face around here? You son of a bitch!" Sabrina demands.

"I'm here to talk to you Sabrina. Quit taking all your anger out on Tia." He orders her like he has control in this situation.

"This is a gym battle I'm simply giving a fair fight." She defends herself.

"Bull, I know how you feel. I can tell you're upset." He says solemnly.

"Shut up you half-baked Empath! I'm a true psychic!" She retaliates.

"I know you're upset Sabrina. I can feel it and even if you won't admit it; you still care about me." He says sweetly.

"Go to hell! You think you're so wonderful or something?" She rebukes furiously.

Tom stops for a moment. He looks deeply into Sabrina's eyes as he walks forward. It is like he is allowing her to feel what he feels. He walks up to her and gently takes hold of her hands. "I love you, Sabrina." That's all he has to say before the stone cold heart of hers comes crashing down.

She stares blankly, awestruck, tears well up and slide down her cheeks. "Tom… but why?" She swallows a lump in her throat. "Why did you leave me without a single word?" She shouts in pain as she collapses to her knees crying like a small child. Tom grits his teeth as a wave of sadness washes over him.

"I didn't. Why does everyone think that?" Tom tries to get to the heart of the problem. "I was looking for you around town. I had to go, but I was going to call you when I got to Johto. Didn't Giovanni tell you?" He says remember the conversation he had with the man who was revered as the most powerful gym leader in Kanto.

Sabrina's eyes shoot up. "Giovanni?" She asks in disbelief. Her whole world came crumbling down, but rebuilt itself like everything just suddenly felt right again. "That bastard!" She shouts getting to her feet.

A huge boom shakes the gym and alerts everyone, "What was that?" Tia finally gets a word in edge wise.

"It's too late." Sabrina says mournfully as they run out of the building. They take a glance at the hole blasted in one of the entries to the Silph Co. building. "I'm sorry," she curls her fist and looks back at Tia and Tom. "I was angry and it blinded me." She grits her teeth and graps her head in agony.

Tom walks up to her and holds her tight. He gives her a kiss on the forehead, "It's okay now Sabrina." He says softly.

"What's important now is that we stop Team Rocket!" Tia urges. The three of them run to the tower as it was being seized by grunts.

"Halt!" Sabrina shouts. "Call off the attack!" She cries desperately. They weren't listening to her.

"Sorry ma'am, these orders are from the boss himself." One of the grunts tells her and calls out his Pokémon.

The Pokémon charge in like mad. "What do we do? They won't listen to me." Sabrina grasps her head realizing all the horrible mistakes she's made. Ninetales comes dashing past with a burst of fire spreading from her mouth.

"Looks like we'll have to beat some sense into them." Tia laughs determined to win this time. She runs head first into the building to Sabrina's shock and Tom's annoyance.

"That girl is real firebrand sometimes." He sighs. He extends out a hand to Sabrina, "Let's go she'll need some help." He smiles.

She swallows hard and gingerly accepts his hand. "I think I'll need help, I can't take them all down with just Gallade." She reluctantly admits.

Tom sighs, "I really didn't want to do this, but I think I can help." He holds Cleffa up, "Sorry sweetie, but I have to return you now." He calls her back and draws another Pokéball. "It's been so long since I've battled. Go Luxray!" A dark lion of a Pokémon prowls and stretch for the first time in a while. "Okay Luxray, we've got a tall order here. Wild Charge!" Tom's eyes gleam just like his Pokémon's.

"Gallade help out Luxray, Psycho Cut." She instructs. The two of them charge forward with their lighting fast Pokémon quickly cutting through the numbers.

"Reminds you of the good old days don't it?" Tom laughs.

Sabrina smiles finally, but sharpens her glance. "I understand why all this happened now." She says solemnly. "Giovanni didn't tell me, because he knew I'd get angry and he knew he could use me." She bites her lip.

"What are you saying?" Tom asks confused while keeping up the battle seamlessly.

"Giovanni is the leader of Team Rocket." Sabrina says regretfully.

Tom's eyes turn wide and sharp. He grits his teeth, tightens his fist, and practically growls. "Luxray… Superpower!" He screams in fury as he runs forward blasting through every Pokémon in their way. This is Tom's true blood thirst side. The side he's tried to suppress for so long. His vision was blurred, his heart was pounding, and his mere presence was enough to make the grunts run in fear.

Sabrina grabs his arm, "Tom, please don't lose control!" She embraces him and doesn't dare to let go. She lets all her emotions pour out to remedy is frenzy.

He comes to his sense and shakes his head, "I'm sorry, I can't believe this is true." He tries to keep calm. Sabrina noticing his plight, without a second thought she lays her lips on his and hold him tight as she could. She let all her frustrations go as she lets her love pour out trying to reach Tom.

Moments later the two separate and stare endlessly into each other's eyes. "I'm an idiot for letting you go." She says quietly, "I do love you." She smiles the way she use to; making Tom happy as can be.

"Then will you do me the honors of being my partner in this battle." He jokingly offers her his hand.

"Of course," She smiles and takes his hand. They continue their assault as if it were an elegant dance.

Tia makes her way through the building taking down any agents in her way. She finally reaches the top of the Silph Co. building. One by one Ninetales knocked out every Pokémon in their way. She finally makes it to the top floor.

"Well I'm impressed you made it this far." A man in a black suit stands before her.

"Are you the one in charge here?" She asks spitting at his feet.

"I am Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket. I am the man that turned this whole damn league into my puppets." He grins with a deep menacing laugh.

"So you have no remorse for what you've done?" Tia asks tightening her fist.

"Remorse, stupid child that implies I'm doing something wrong. I'm turning these weak Pokémon into something to be feared." He proudly declares.

"Then I have no reason to feel guilty about this." Tia says spitefully. "Ninetales Flamethrower!" She orders her Pokemon to demonstrate her new move. She angry points directly at Giovanni.

He looks at her with a cheeky grin, "No better than Surge." He drops a Pokeball at his feet. His Nidoking walls the blast.

"Don't you dare compare me to him!" She shouts irately. "Quick Attack followed by a Flamethrower!" She screams. Ninetales charges forward in a flash of fiery light. She bashes into Nidoking and proceeded to torch it at point blank range. The blast comes as a surprise to Nidoking knocking it out.

He laughs, "You know you'd make a great agent. Seems I have an opening after Sabrina abandoned us. Love will make people do the dumbest things. Golem." He calls his next Pokémon.

"I would never join you! Keep it up with another Quick Attack!" She demands. Ninetales's assault continues proving to be less effective on the Golem's rock hard defense.

"My offer still stands. You're a powerful trainer, plus I know you're chasing in that Mysterious Trainer X's shadow." He mocks her. "I must end this façade though, Golem Earthquake." The Golem jumps into the air and smashed down on the delicate floor making to crumble underneath them. Ninetales's previous fatigue proved to be too much.

"Return, I'm not down I'll take you down with this building if I have too!" She declares with an unfailing determination. "Ivysaur finish this!" Her Ivysaur emerges from the Pokeball. "Razor Leaf!" The razor sharp leaves fly in every direction breaking down Golem's defense.

"So ruthless, but your games are annoying me now girl." He snarls. "Rhydon!" He yells. "Hammer Arm!" He order.

Tia smirks, right as the attack connects a blinding white light explodes from Ivysaur. Once the shine dies down Ivysaur was different. Two power vines from a fully opened flower on her back held back Rhydon's attack. "Ivysaur's now a Venasaur!" She shouts happily. Giovanni's taken aback by the discovery.

"You bitch!" He shouts in shock.

Tia points at the exposed sun on the broken remains of the roof. "Okay Venasaur: Solar Beam point blank!" Ivysaur happily complies and blast Rhydon in the face with her powerful burst of energy.

"Damn you," He calls back his final Pokémon, "This changes nothing." He slowly begins to approach her with a daunting gaze as he towered over Tia. She could sense the malice in his approach as she tries to move without being paralyzed with fear.

"Now that's not how you treat a lady Gio," The voice that interrupted them was too familiar. A flash of light appears between them as a streak of dust followed behind. X sat atop his Arcanine. "It's over," X glares with his more calm and stoic voice.

"For now, but I have everything I need." He laughs and steps next to a grunt with an Abra. "Until we meet again Tia, oh and X it's nice to see you again." He says with a wicked laugh.

"Bastard got away." X looks over at Tia who was a little surprised. "Hop on, we have to get out of here before the building collapses." X urges her and extends out a hand to hoist her onto Arcanine's back.

"Who are you really X?" Tia asks quietly.

X says nothing and the two of them ride down the stairs to the ground floor of the pulverized building. They find Sabrina who was with Officer Jenny. Tia steps off of Arcanine and runs up to Sabrina and Jenny.

Sabrina notices her and nods, "Are you alright?" She didn't let her feelings show, but she was worried.

"Please, tell me everything." Officer Jenny urges.

"I got into a battle with Giovanni: the head of Team Rocket." Tia balls her fist. "He's betrayed the Pokemon League."

Jenny gets this all down, "This is troubling news for sure. How did you escape?"

Tia doesn't bother looking back. In her mind she knew X had already fled the scene. "Mysterious Trainer X saved me." She looks down feeling ashamed she was so easily scared by Giovanni.

Tom walks up behind them, "It's been a long day for us all," he voice is much more tender and caring. Tia turns around to see his wide toothy grin. "Come on, a wins a win. We undid a lot of Rocket's influence today. You should be proud you were able to go toe-to-toe with Gio and survive." He sympathetically pats her on the shoulder.

Sabrina nods, "You two head for the Pokemon Center. I'll handle this from here." Sabrina smiles and waves goodbye to Tom. Though she quickly blushes and hold back her hand.

The two trainers walk into a small room and throw themselves onto their respective beds. "Today has been a long day." Tia takes a second to decompress. "Tom?" She looks over at him and sees he's already fast asleep. She giggles and walks over to his bed. She grabs his bag and begins to set it on the ground by his bed. Suddenly, the zipper loosens and the contents slip out. "Whoops," Tia picks them up, but freezes at the sight of one item in particular. A blank, white mask.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please, feel free to leave a review on your thoughts of this chapter or the story as a whole. This was by far the longest chapter yet. It barely beat out Chapter 7. I was really happy with how this chapter turned out and the big reveal at the end. I'm also really glad to have Sabrina in the story now.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18: Rekindle

Chapter 16: Rekindled

It's late at night, Tia is blissfully asleep; unlike Tom who felt compelled to clear his head. He walks through the virtually silent town. He sees the faint light of one of his favorite cafés, it was a place he had been to many time in his journey through Kanto. This very café was where destiny had brought the two together. He smiles fondly before walking in. They were open all night and day, and always welcomed customers with a smile. He walks in to the aroma of freshly brewed tea and a scent of nostalgia. It soothed him. This is a luxury he hasn't had too often recently.

"Well if it isn't Tom. How have you been my boy?" A man at the counter says with a pleasant smile.

"It's been a while hasn't it?" He says with a warm grin. "You wouldn't happen to still serve Jasmine tea?" He asks hoping his nose wasn't failing him.

"Fresh pot right over there, I'll pour you one." He smiles and hands it to Tom with care.

He takes his cup and makes his way to a window seat. He spots someone in his usual spot. "Mind if I join you?" He asks politely.

The woman looks up a little surprised. "Do you need to ask Tom?" Sabrina chuckles as she takes a delicate sip of Jasmine tea.

He takes his seat, "Great minds think alike?" He jokes as he enjoys his drink.

"Couldn't sleep either huh?" She could read him as well as he could read her.

"Yeah doesn't take a psychic or an empath to figure that out. I'm glad I ran into you." He says calmly.

"I want us to talk. I just feel like we need to clear the air. We both did things we regret." Her tone turns serious. "I'm no longer mad at you."

"I could never stay mad at you." He places a hand on hers. "Well, I guess this is the part where I ask how you have been." He says awkwardly.

She laughs, "Oh you know I maintaining the gym, training, and trying to take over Kanto." She responds surprisingly fine with admitting that she went a little crazy. "You?"

"Well, other than studying with Professor Oak and Mr. Pokémon. I just traveled with Tia." He admits.

"Yeah about that, why are you traveling with her?" Sabrina asks a little suspiciously, though she doubts he's done anything with her.

"I'm actually doing it as a favor I kind of got roped into. Plus I was wanting to meet with you so I was on the way anyways." He grins. "Also, Erika's worried about you. You should probably call her sometime." He advises.

"Oh no, I forgot I hope she's not mad." She worries to herself making Tom laugh.

"I think you're fine, she loves you like she loves me." This makes them both laugh.

"I'm glad we can still talk like this Tom, but I was wondering if we could find someplace more private." She says timidly finishing her tea.

"Sure where do you have in mind?" He asks unaware of what her intentions are.

She stands up leaving money for their drinks and a tip. "Follow me and you'll find out." She giggles and takes his hand in hers. They make their way to her gym and quickly step inside. Sabrina takes him into the back where her living quarters were. "Now we can be alone." She smiles and gives him a quick kiss.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" He teases her.

"I'm not _trying_ anything." She winks with a flirtatious grin. She moves in closer and drapes her arms over his sturdy shoulders. "I love you." She whispers in his ear.

Tom kisses her tenderly. "I love you too Sabrina. I've missed you so much."

Sabrina Takes him by the hand and guides him to her couch. "Deep down I missed you too. I know I'll never be able to make up for all the terrible things I did with Team Rocket though." She lowers her head and clenches her fist.

Tom looks on at her in the dark room. It was just the two of them all alone in the dark, save for the moon that shown in on them. He could feel Sabrina's pain as if it was his own. In a way it was his own. Sabrina meant the world to him and seeing her suffer for her mistakes only made the pain worse. He sits beside her and takes her hands. "We'll figure out a way to fix this, trust me." Tom says with a determined glint in his eyes.

Sabrina smiles at her stubborn boyfriend. "There's that look I haven't seen in so long. It reminds me of the first time we met." She giggles and nice once breaks contact with his soft, green eyes.

"Weren't you first words to me, 'how did a dorky kid like you get this far?'" The two both share a laugh. "Then I told you I was there that day you first came to the gym leader's conference."

Sabrina nods, "That was so long ago now. Who knew we'd be where we are today?" She reminisces about all her time as a gym leader. She stops and thinks about all her time with Tom as well. "Hey Tom are you thirsty still?"

He shrugs, "I could go for another drink." He plays it off coolly; trying to act cool in front of his girlfriend.

She rolls her eyes at his attempt. She raises her hand and instantly the fridge opens and two sodas levitate over to them. She floats it into his hand. "Here you go." She smiles warmly.

"God, that is still creepy." Tom was accepting of her psychic abilities, but doesn't mean he wasn't still a little unnerved by it.

She giggles and takes a sip. "The reason I offered was because I figured we wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight."

"You don't say," he responds with a flirty grin and puts an arm over her shoulder.

She shakes her head, "Not that. Okay yes that, but I mean I still want to talk." She says feeling a little embarrassed since she wasn't one to take about her feelings too often.

"What else in on your mind?" He asks more sincerely.

"The whole Mysterious Trainer X situation actually." She addresses a very large concern.

He shrugs, "I don't really know that guy. He's just been running around stopping Team Rocket with his Arcanine." Tom plays it off nonchalantly.

"Cut it out," Sabrina gives him a stern glance. "I knew from the start that X was you. Hell, we all did. Giovanni, Koga, Surge, and I all knew you were the only cause trouble for Rocket." Sabrina's concern was painted all over her face.

Tom lets out a sigh and leans back. "I had to stop Team Rocket without alert too much attention to myself."

"The disguise I guess I can understand, but why haven't you told Tia yet?" Sabrina hits the nail on the head.

"Can't we just have sex now?" He whines.

"Tom," she chastises him.

"Fine, the reason is because I don't I don't want to be associated with being a trainer. To her I'm just a normal guy and a researcher. It's so much simpler that way."

Sabrina looks a little shocked, "Why? You fought hard to get to where you are now. Why are you not happy with that?" Clearly something had happened since they last met.

"It's my powers. Being an Empath has opened my eyes. Tia's afraid of X's power. I don't want her to be afraid of me. I don't want anyone to be afraid of me." Tom rubs his forehead feeling a headache coming on.

Sabrina starts massaging his shoulders. "I'm not afraid of you dear. Your strength is one of the reasons I fell in love with you in the first place." She pause and notices his pain wasn't normal. "Is this some sort of Empathic headache?" She takes a shot in the dark.

He nods, "If my emotions get too worked up it tends to happen. They come on pretty quickly and randomly too."

"So they're like Psychic headaches." She chuckles and grabs a couple pills. "These will help. Extra strength pain relievers for supernatural pains." She winks and gives him a couple.

"You're lucky you don't have any downsides to your abilities." Tom's eyes have finally adjusted to the lack of light and notices all the new furniture in her room. "Oh you redecorated. What made you do that?"

"Destroyed all my old furniture in a fit of psychic rage." She says with a smile on her face.

"Oh… duly noted." He takes another drink before they both crack up laughing. "You know, just a fit of psychic rage." Tom jokes.

She just shrugs with a grin on her face, "Yeah, no big deal." The two take a moment to calm down. Tom props his legs on the adjacent coffee table prompting Sabrina to do the same. She rests her head on his shoulder. "I'm really happy we can still do this Tom. I was afraid I'd screwed everything up for good."

"You know it would take a lot more than that to get rid of me." He chuckles. "To be honest I was afraid that I'd ruined it too. Coming here was a total crap shoot. I was afraid you'd reject me when I ran into the gym." Tom confesses his worst fears.

"I almost didn't, but those three little words struck deep. I couldn't be angry." She takes his hand and laces her fingers around his.

"I love you," he puts it simply.

"And I love you." The two kiss once more. "It's really late. We should get some sleep." Gets you while still holding his hand. "Care to join me?" She winks.

"You have to ask?" Tom smirks and gets up. The two run off back to her bedroom giggle and as happy as can be. For once in a really long time everything felt right with the world.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please fell free to leave a review about this chapter or the story as a whole. This chapter is a bit of a break form all the action, but I wanted a chapter where Tom and Sabrina made a mends. I will admit I love strong emotions scenes and love stories. The biggest thing is that I wanted to really get across the kind of couple they are.<p> 


	19. Chapter 19: The Journey Continues

Chapter 19: The Journey Continues

Tia wakes up in the morning and notices an absence of Tom in the room. "Must have got up already," She yawns and heads for the shower. Once she's completely her morning routine she gets out of her room and head into town for breakfast. She stops and notices Tom's bag and tries not to think about the possible secret he hid in there. Shaking her head Tia walks out. She finds a small café that Tom had visited the night before. Low and behold Tom and Sabrina we happily eating together. Tia puts on a brave face and joins them. "Morning love birds," she casually chuckles.

"How did she know?" Sabrina questions if Tia knew what they'd done the night before.

"Know what?" Tia was blissfully unaware of what Sabrina was talking about.

Tom laughs, "She doesn't." He continues to drink his tea.

A man comes up to take her order and quickly walks off to get her breakfast. "Don't know what?" She is still clueless.

"If you have to ask, you'll never know." Sabrina teases her making Tia pout.

"Come on spill it." Tia demands with a growing curiosity.

"Fine, when a man and a woman love each other very much-" He barely gets that out before getting interrupted.

"Ah why would you tell me that?" Tia panics and covers her ears.

"You wanted to know!" Tom defends. He looks over at Sabrina, "She wanted to know."

"I know dear," She rubs his back gingerly.

Tia's food finally arrives and within seconds she scarfs it down. "Tia did you try tasting the food?" Sabrina is a little frightened by how she was wolfing down the food like it insulted her ancestors.

"She's not the patient type." Tom says quietly and sighs. "She very modest though." He notes.

"So like the opposite of you?" She asks getting a nod from Tom. She was going to have fun with this. "Oh Tia, have you ever had sex before?" She grins mischievously.

Tia almost chokes on her food, "No!" She shouts embarrassed. "Hey Tom don't you think it's about time for us to go? You know head to Fuchsia City." She suggest to him quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah good idea. Sabrina and I are already packed." He grins cheerfully.

"Wait what?" Tia didn't expect her to be coming along.

"I decided to join you two. I figure I can help, plus I get to spend more time with Tom." She wraps her arms around him affectionately.

"What about the Gym?" Tia tries to convince her to stay.

"She said it's alright." Tom assures her.

Sabrina winks, "Don't worry we'll be quiet at night." She giggles and Tia's jaw drops.

Tia looks like her brain blew a fuse. "Okay, that's enough babe." Tom suggests. "Sorry Sabrina might have taken the joke too far."

"We were joking?" Sabrina asks concerned. Tom tries not to laugh.

"I'm leaving; you guys can take your crap elsewhere." She walks off in a huff.

"Calm down Tia, we'll behave I know you're sensitive about that." He says caringly. "I just don't want to be away from Sabrina right now." He says taking his girlfriend's hand.

"Fine, I guess I understand, but one more peep about _that_ and I'm hosing you two down with Gyarados!" She insists.

The two of them laugh, "Okay, and maybe this will make you forgive me?" Sabrina says with a calmer demeanor as she hands Tia the Marsh Badge from her gym.

"A gym badge, but I didn't earn this?" Tia insists.

"You saved so many people in the Silph Co. skyscraper that more than proves yourself worth of this badge." Sabrina's expression is a lot more like her distant persona she takes on in public.

"Well, I think it's about time we head off ladies." Tom smiles and makes his way forward holding Sabrina's hand. Tia couldn't help giggle at how happy he looked as he and Sabrina laced fingers. "We need to head to Celadon again. It's the best way to get to Fuchsia from without trek all around Kanto." He laughs looking at his map.

"That really the fastest way?" Tia examines a map for herself and notices the Cycling Road.

"Yes, plus someone might have to apologize." Tom nudges Sabrina who blushes and bows her head.

"I almost forgot," She covers her mouth worried, "I hope she's not mad." Sabrina panics a bit as she shuffles nervously. Tia could tell Sabrina didn't want to incur the wrath of Erika like she had.

The three of them grab their supplies back at the Pokemon center before make their way to the guard station and walk in to the guards shock. Sabrina waits downstairs while Tom and Tia head up. Tom runs in and notices his bag was open. "_That's weird?_" He speaks to himself as her shuffles through it. He notices one item missing and his heart sinks like a rock. He then hears the door shut behind him.

"Looking for this?" Tia holds the X mask in front of her face with a cold stare.

Tom sighs and throws the bag over his shoulder. "You caught me. Now what?" Tom frowns and meets her gaze.

"Why did you hide this from me?" Tia growls back at him. She wasn't about to step down or be intimidated.

"You didn't need to know." Tom's tone is cold as ice.

"And what gives you the right to say that?" Tia demands further.

"X is a disguise to hide who I really. This right here," he motions over his whole body. "This is a disguise for who I really am."

"Who are you really?" Tia throws the mask at him. "Are telling me that the Tom I know and consider a friend is all a lie?" Tia shouts and stomps her foot.

Tom doesn't answer as he packs up his mask. He finally speaks up, "I've never claimed to be a good person Tia." He walks past her and out the door without so much as looking at her.

Tia balls her fist and walks off. Downstairs she sees Tom and Sabrina waiting. Tom himself was acting like nothing had happened. In a matter of seconds he was able to completely alter his demeanor and it pissed her off.

"Alright ladies it's time to head off." Tom's attitude is as chipper as ever.

Sabrina speaks up, "Before we go I do need to talk to Tia."

This snaps Tia out of her deep thoughts. "Wait you do?"

Sabrina nods and looks over at Tom. He shrugs and steps outside. "Now that we're alone there's a couple things I wanted to talk to you about."

Tia decides to hijack the conversation. "Like how your boyfriend is nothing but a huge liar." Tia was practically spitting fire.

Sabrina's taken aback by the assault outburst. "What do you know?" Sabrina's attitude instantly turns back to the cold persona she demonstrates in public.

"I know about his little secret. The one that starts with X." Tia didn't doubt Sabrina knew. She had to have known. Unless Tom had her fooled too.

Sabrina pitches the bridge of her nose. "Somehow I knew that'd come back and bite him in the ass." She sits down and gestures for Tia to join her. "Tom's a tough nut to crack. Know that he has a different way of viewing himself. He strong, but kind and gentle." Sabrina says sympathetically.

"That's not what he said. He says he's not a good person." Tia explains her side of the story. Which doesn't seem to surprise Sabrina.

"You know now that Tom's an Empath. He can feel everyone's emotions constantly. He can ever manipulate the emotions of others too. Which scares him. So he tries to wall himself off from others and puts on his nice guy routine. What he doesn't understand is that's who he is." Sabrina does her best to explain it.

"So he's convinced he's this terrible person, but he isn't?" Tia tries to figure it out herself.

"He has a complicated past. That's something he should be telling you." Sabrina leaves it at that. "Now the real reason I wanted to talk to you is this here." Sabrina pulls out a Pokeball.

"What is this?" Tia looks at it as Sabrina hands it to her. Tia calls out the Pokemon. An Alakazam emerges from the ball and looks at Tia. "You're giving him to me?"

Sabrina nods, "If you're going to stand a chance in Fuchsia, you're going to need something with a bigger advantage." Sabrina's words are harsh, but true. "I raised him myself, he's a strong fighter." She says with a strong sense of pride."

Tia looks at him. "I can tell. Thank you Sabrina." She looks again at her new team member.

"She is your new trainer now. Lend her your strength; I've always been proud of you." Her expression softens a little and turns to Tia. Tia smiles back and calls back her new Pokemon. "We shouldn't keep Tom waiting anymore."

The girls meet up outside with Tom waiting eagerly. "Okay Tom we're ready." Tia says happily which makes Tom uneasy, but he doesn't show it.

"Great, let's get going then." He takes Sabrina's hand and walks forward with a spring in his step. Tia lagged behind as she continued to think about who Tom truly is.

The three enter in the guard station and walk up to the man who denied them entry before. He was barely paying attention when Sabrina approached him. She clears her throat to alert him.

"Ms. Sabrina," He stammers, "Um… I'm not slacking I swear they knocked me out and stole the key!" He points out Tom and Tia.

"Hey!" Tia shouts offended that he just threw them under the bus like that.

"It's alright. We're here to get to Celadon City. From this moment on Saffron is no longer on lockdown." She informs him.

"Yes ma'am," He stands in attention and picks up a phone.

The group walks on through back into the graceful Celadon City. "I almost forgot I picked this up last time." Tom presents Sabrina the bottle of perfume he got from Erika. He sprays a touch on Sabrina making her smell like a field of Lavender.

She smiles widely, "Thank you dear." She gives him a peck on the cheek and keeps walking. It was her favorite fragrance and Tom committed it to memory for that very reason. She does quickly corrects herself. Sabrina was not really one for acting feminine.

Tom leads the way to the gym with the others in tow. They are once again greeted with the delicate scent of flowers and the perfumes' gentle aroma. A woman at the counter notices them and waves at Tom. "Hello sir, it's a pleasure to see you again." She takes a quick whiff of Sabrina. "Lavender 47, with a hint of Lilac. So that's who it was for." She smiles back at Tom. "I'll go tell Lady Erika you are here." She smiles warmly and walks off.

"I swear Tom you know more about perfume than I do." Tia whines at her lack of grace.

"You're more a French Vanilla if you ask me." He comments with a cheesy smile.

"Shut up," She says uneasily at how well he could decide. She felt like an open book around him, probably due to the fact that she knows he's an Empath now.

Erika comes walking out, notices Sabrina, and makes a full sprint to her before wrapping her arms around her. "Sabrina, I heard everything!" She buries her face in Sabrina's chest.

She pats Erika on the head. "I'm sorry I had you worried. I let Giovanni fool me." She begrudgingly admits gritting her teeth.

"Giovanni, what do you mean?" Erika asked with a worried expression.

"He's the reason Team Rocket exists." Tia boldly speaks for them.

Erika couldn't believe what she heard. "No way. Why would Giovanni ever want to do that?"

"It's true Erika, I saw it firsthand. He's also the one who fabricated the lie that I just left without a word." Tom curls his fist in anger that he trusted that man. Another person he thought he could call a friend betrayed him.

"First Surge goes crazy and now this?" Erika fights back the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Wait, what did that idiot do?" Sabrina asks having not heard about the battle on the S.S. Anne.

"He fought a trainer on the S.S. Anne and nearly took down the whole ship trying to beat this trainer." Erika informs her.

"Was it that Mysterious Trainer X that was making a huge splash recently?" Sabrina decides not to divulge Tom's secret. Though, she wouldn't be surprised if Erika saw through his disguise. Moreover, she is trying to wrap her head around who was responsible for make Surge so angry.

Tia looks down and tightens her fist. "No it wasn't X." She says spitefully and shoots a glance at Tom. The other girls quickly pipe up. They understood and didn't press the issue further.

"Anyway, it's great to see you back to your old self Sabrina." Erika hugs her tighter. "We should have tea or a bath, Tom can join us." She suggests.

"Erika your sibling complex is showing." Tia teases her to very little care.

"Some other time we're here because we heading to the Cycling Road to get to Fuchsia. I just brought Sabrina here to apologize." Tom explains.

"Well I guess we can catch up some other time than, I'm just happy you and Tom have made up." She smiles.

"So are we," Sabrina smiles and laces her fingers between Tom's. "But we must get going." She tells Erika who smiles and runs over to the counter.

"Lucky for you three I have some vouchers so you can get in and get bikes free of charge." She happily hands the vouchers to Tia. "I figured this is a good apology for our first battle." She chuckles.

"Thank you Erika," Tia smiles and waves goodbye with the rest. Once outside she immediately declares, "Okay, off to the cycling road."

Tom and Sabrina follow close behind the overly anxious Tia. "Remember the time we were on Cycling Road?" Tom says nostalgically.

"I sure do," She wraps her arms around Tom's arm, "I remember riding more than just a bike." She wink and grins mischievously.

"Gyarados!" Tia grabs her Pokeball.

Tom raises his hands defensively, "Calm down she's kidding Tia." He quickly lies hoping she'd believe him.

"Yeah… I was kidding." Sabrina says sarcastically and winks again.

"What's with you, you're not usually this flirty?" Tom's surprised by Sabrina's unusual attitude. She's usually a lot colder and more serious as she has demonstrated with Tia.

"I think you just have that effect on women Tom." She teases him which makes him blush. "Let's go dear." Sabrina smiles and takes him by the hand. Tia can't help but be amazed by her total change in personality whenever Tom was around, must be love.

"Okay we can finally get to the Cycling Road." Tia shouts excitedly. She runs her way into the building as the others hang back.

"What were you two talking about back in Saffron anyway?" Tom asks Sabrina suspiciously.

"Oh you know, girl talk." She giggles making obvious that she's not going to tell him. They walk and spot Tia already with her own bike and gear.

"Come on Slowpokes. We got to get to Fuchsia eventually." She laughs ready to go flying down the cycling road.

"Calm down, the city's not going anywhere." Tom says with a grin on his face trying not to laugh at the sheer amount of energy she's giving off. He and Sabrina grab a bike and leisurely take it outside and hop on.

"Race you to the end!" Tia shouts as she tears out of the start at a ridiculous pace.

"My god that girl can peddle." Sabrina looks on in amazement. She starts to peddle as fast as she can, not nearly keeping up with Tia and her endless supply of energy.

Tom casually strolls up beside Sabrina, "Don't push yourself too hard dear." He smiles at Sabrina who was clearly fatigued and sweating.

"I must…do…my best." She says clearly winded and exhausted.

"You don't have to prove anything, but I know how hell bent you can get so I'll rub your feet when we get to Fuchsia." His smile was so sincere Sabrina felt revitalized and pressed on. He easily matches her pace though. She was never the outside kind of girl so a lot of exercise like this wasn't easy for her.

She huffs, "I can't feel my legs." She says as her breathing increases. Her chest was pounding and throbbing with each peddle. She still refused to give up.

Tom admired her persistence, but he still worried about her over doing it. "Sabrina, seriously you don't have to overdo it." He presses further to no avail.

She tuned him out as sweat dripped off her, her long hair was frazzled by the wind, but she refuses to give up. She powers through the final stretch of the course and breaks just shy of Tia would was impatiently waiting. "I…I made it." She says panting as she tries catching her breath.

"About time, you two are so slow." She whines.

Tom hops off the bike stretching his legs feeling refreshed, "I didn't want to push it. That was a fun work out though." Tom smiles. Sabrina gets off her bike and immediately falls limp. Tom quickly grabs her before she hits the ground.

"Whoa, Sabrina are you alright?" Tia exclaims. She see that her breathing was shallow and forced.

Tom sighs, "I love you, but why do you have to be so damn stubborn?" He cracks a soft smile. "She'll be fine, she just exhausted herself." He assures Tia.

"No offense, but she's not in very good shape is she?" Tia comments looking at how sweaty Sabrina is.

Tom shakes his head, "She's a psychic; it requires a lot of brain power and is very taxing. That's why she's never really cared about physical fitness. She spends all her time training her mind." Tom explains, "I know how she feels, empathy is also very emotionally draining." He smiles again and carefully lifts his girlfriend's limp body in his arms.

"We should take her to the Pokémon Center once we get in Fuchsia City." Tia knew what Tom was think and couldn't agree more. "I'm sorry I was being so impatient, I can't help feel responsible." Tia looks down.

Tom shakes his head, "You have a lot of stamina, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Sabrina's just very competitive. She doesn't like losing." Tom admits, it was pretty obvious too. The trio make their way into the city. Everything seems normal for the most part. The city was full of its usual life, with people and Pokémon alike. Tom takes Sabrina to the center. "Hey Tia go on a head. I'll handle Sabrina." He says with a cautious glare. She nods and runs off. Tom walks in with Sabrina in his arms which alarms a fair number of people.

"Is everything alright sir?" Nurse Joy asks frantically.

"Yeah, she's just exhausted, can we borrow a room?" He asks with an innocent grin. Without hesitation Joy takes them to an open room where Tom lies her down. He delicately sets her on the bed and fans her so she'll cool off. He runs his hand down her warm cheek and gently kisses her on the lips. "I love you." He whispers in her ear, making her smile whether she's aware of it or not. Tom quietly stands up and walks over to a table with his back pack. "Koga's got poison and bug types so a Fire type is the best choice. Unfortunately, Luxray doesn't have any fire type moves." He mulls over his choices knowing Tia will need help. "I have no choice." He reaches into his bag for another Pokeball. He also grabs a change of clothes and his mask. Moments later he dawns his white mask before quietly slipping out the window and releasing his Arcanine.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review on your thoughts of the chapter or story in general. Well we have a new longest chapter. This was one that I really just wanted to get a lot of the explanations out of the way. Mostly focusing on the deepr aspects of Tom's character as well as Sabrina.<p> 


	20. Chapter 20: Ninjas of Fuchsia

Chapter 20: Ninja's of Fuchsia

Tia ran through the town trying to find the gym where Koga was no doubt hiding. She can feel something is up, like she's being watched by someone. She casually reaches at her belt for a Pokeball. "Come on Alakazam," She quietly calls out her new team member. "Can you sense anything?" She asks as they walk along the streets that were surprisingly clear all of a sudden. Not a soul throughout the streets. Tia cautiously makes her way to the gym hoping they aren't jumped along the way. Alakazam stops and holds up a hand. "You got something?" He nods and quickly turns around.

"A very perceptive Pokémon." A distorted voice comes from over Tia's shoulder.

She turns around. "Is this really necessary anymore?" Tia's gaze pieces right through Tom's guise. "Why are you here?" She asks feeling concerned if he's here then it might be a lot worse than she thought.

"Koga," His exposed eye glares past Tia.

Tia didn't even notice an entire army of ninja's appearing behind her with Koga at the head. "Very good Mysterious Trainer X." He grins ready to battle.

Tia finally catches on turns around to the overwhelming numbers. "So you're the one that's with Team Rocket?" She accuses him.

"Correct little girl." Koga doesn't bother hiding his conceded tone. "We'll lead Kanto to a new era. Where Team Rocket rules!" He laugh manically.

"Not as long I'm here!" Tia shouts and directs Alakazam. "Use Psychic!" She orders.

Alakazam unleashes a mighty burst of psychic energy. Koga disappears with a Venonat getting the blunt of the attack.

X decides to join the fray. "I'm not letting you do this alone." With a grand gesture her points toward the army of Pokemon. "Flame Charge!" Arcanine takes sight of a large group of poison/bug types. The fierce Pokemon charges forward with a fiery determination in his eyes and burning embers adoring his mane while plowing through the army of poison types.

"Thanks X. Psychic!" Tia keeps up the façade and with a smirk feeling confident that she can beat these weak Pokémon.

"I wouldn't be to confident now." Koga appears right behind her and grabs her and laughs. Alakazam finishes attacking a large group and turns to see Tia in Koga's grasp. "I have you now. You better call off your attacks if you want to live." He pulls out a Pokeball and calls out a Seviper with its sharp, blade-like tail looming over Tia throat. "A poison tail can be quite lethal let me tell you. Oh and its poison fang can make even the strongest Pokémon quake." He laughs more and more sinisterly.

"Let her go Koga!" X shouts with such force it makes the Pokémon around him shudder.

"Temper, temper." He taunts as Seviper runs its tail over Tia body ready to strike. It slowly taunts her to instill even more fear into its prey.

Tia swallows a lump in her throat and finally speaks. "Alakazam…" She stares him down. "Psychic, on me!" She shouts without any hesitation or fear.

"Are you suicidal?" Koga quickly vanishes as the beam of psychic energy flies at her, but most importantly Seviper. Direct hit: Seviper is blasted away leaving Tia unharmed since Seviper served as a shield.

"Clever bitch," He spits and calls back his fang snake Pokémon. "Don't think that was my only option. Go my Scolipede!" He calls out his next beast of a Pokémon. It towered over all of them and the army behind him. "Sludge Bomb that Alakazam!" Koga is very quickly losing his patience with Tia. The giant bug shoots a Sludge Bomb like a bullet so fast Alakazam could hardly see it coming. Alakazam takes the blunt of the attack and badly poisoning him.  
>"Alakazam shake it off and use Psychic again!" He struggles, but he manages to get the Scolipede with one attack; though barely hitting. The speed of Scolipede is unreal.<p>

"Venoshock!" Koga orders it. Which it seems all too happy to get right in Alakazam's face to blast him. Down Tia's Pokemon went in a mighty blast of poison.

"This Scolipede is insane." She calls back her only real hope for this fight. "Go Gyarados, I need you." Her Gyarados emerges to protect her.

X was still having his hands full with his own army of opponents. "Dammit, how much more abuse can Arcanine take?" He was sweating under his mask hoping that things turn in his favor soon, or at least Tia finishes off Koga. Her Gyarados was at least putting up a good fight and weaving between that Scolipede's attacks while getting in some stead blows of his own. X focuses on his own fight. "Arcanine flamethrower take care of that pathetic lot." He's so focused on the Pokémon around him he fails to see the one right behind him. A Beedrill ready with its own Poison Sting. The target: X marks the spot. Faster than he can react or dodge he spots the Beedrill barreling towards him at full speed.

In a flash Sabrina appears arms spread guarding X. The hit connects piercing her shoulder. She winces in agony. Sabrina tries, but fails to hold back a blood cuddling scream. X looks on in dismay. His anger got the better of him. He punches the Beedrill away and grabs Sabrina holding her in his arms. "Sabrina! Oh god please tell me you're alright!" This gets Koga and Tia's attention. X throws off his mask. Tom stared down on her weeping trying to control himself.

"Well this is interesting. I guess it makes sense only a trainer as powerful as you are could possibly thwart Rocket time and time again." Koga was amused by all this. Especially Sabrina's sacrifice to protect her boyfriend.

Sabrina looks up at Tom, "I guess this makes up for how mad I got?" She chuckles weakly. "Don't worry dear I'll be fine." She passes out in his arms.

Tom's anger boiled over. He couldn't see straight. He silently lies her down. "Arcanine return." He calls back his trusted Pokémon and grabs another Pokeball. "Now, rain hell!" He screams as he tosses his ball up in the air. The Pokémon emerges at such speed it flies into the clouds before anyone can see. "Draco Meteor!" He screams so intensely Tia collapses like his hatred was pulling down on her. Light flashes as a meteor shower rains down on them eliminating ever Pokémon around them even Scolipede.

When the smoke cleared Koga was amazed to see Gyarados protecting him and Tia. "Girl, you protected me?" He is absolutely dumbfounded by Tia's actions. The carnage was over and Tom called back his Pokémon before Tia could ever get a glance at it.

"Yeah unlike you, I don't like seeing people get hurt." She grabs him by the collar, "Though it's temping." She says with a mischievous gleam.

Koga pulls away. He drops to his knees, "I've been beaten. I have no choice, turn me in if you have to." He says humbly.

"How honorable for a man who almost offed me." Tia's still pretty pissed about that. "How about this; give me your badge, step down from the league, and devote yourself to fix the mistakes you've made. Then I might consider thinking about forget you!" She orders him around like a child.

Koga scowls, "I will give you the badge as proof of victory, but you have no right to tell me what do, especially to step down from _my_ gym."

Tom walks up, grabs Koga by the collar, and lifts him up with a deadly gaze. He whispers into ear making Koga petrified with fear. "I think now you'll be a little more complacent, right?" Tom tells him not accepting no as an answer.

"You would bring a gun to knife fight." He says bitterly. Tom drops him and grabs Sabrina. Koga walks up to Tia. "Your badge, you've earned this." He gets on one knee again and bows his head. "I owe you my life for saving me from that attack." He disappears before Tia could say anything else.

"We should get back to the center." Tom says in a serious tone.

"What did you tell him?" Tia asks.

"I have an in with the league and they'd make his life a living hell unless he agrees to your terms. Frankly, you were easy on him." Tom gives her a deadpan expression.

The group arrive back at the center and alert Nurse Joy to Sabrina's condition. For the next couple hours they sit around in the room with her watching her recover. Tia took to reading some magazines. Tom refused to leave her side.

Tia finally musters the courage to confront Tom. "Hey Tom, can I talk to you?" She asks timidly while she stood in the door way.

"I have a feeling I know what this is about." He seemed to at least be somewhat back to his old self as he cradled Cleffa.

"Are you ready to tell me why you really run around as X?" She has him cornered and she won't take anymore excuses.

Tom takes a deep sigh, "I didn't want you to think I was a cold, merciless trainer. Honestly, I gave up training for Pokémon researching. I'll train Pokémon, but battles are a part of me I want to leave behind." He explains.

"But you're Pokémon are so stronger, like Arcanine and that Pokémon that used Draco Meteor." Tia was almost scared of his power.

Picks up on this immediately, "That right there. You were afraid of me and my Pokemon. I can't control myself in battle; my anger and drive go through the roof. I would have seriously hurt Koga if you hadn't protected him." He looks down at Sabrina and caresses her cheek.

"Tom you're a nice guy and a crazy strong trainer, don't be afraid of that. I do believe you're a good person at heart." She smiles and pats him on the shoulder.

Tom wipes a single tear from his eye, "Thanks Tia, but it's tough when you're an Empath. You're terrified; I know it. Deep down you were afraid of me. That's what I hate." He is reading her like a book, especially back in the battle. "I was afraid too, I don't know what I'd do if I lost Sabrina again." He fights back a few tears in his eyes.

"I know Tom, I don't want to see anything happen to her either; I don't want to see Rocket hurt anyone ever again. That's why I'll beat Giovanni." Tia says determined as ever.

"I have faith in you, but before that we have to get your seventh badge." Tom reminds her.

"Oh right, where is that anyway, we've been to every city in the region?" Tia is completely stumped at this point. For her home region she wasn't the more well versed about it.

"The next gym is on Cinnabar Island. A man named Blaine runs that gym." He explains to Tia looking at least somewhat happy to think about his familiar face.

"Is he with Team Rocket too?" Tia asks cautiously.

"I sure as hell hope not." Tom looks down and strokes Sabrina's cheek again.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to leave a review giving your thoughts on the chapter or story as a whole. Well this is one I've kind of wanted to get to for a while. Mostly because we finally get a decisive answer for Tom's actions. Which I'm sure many of you were wondering.<p> 


	21. Chapter 21: Secrets

Chapter 21: Secrets

A couple days have passed since the incident with Koga and Sabrina is still lying down recovering. The glimpse of sunlight gleams in on the room. Sabrina squints and slowly opens her eye. Adjusting to the gentle light leaking in on Sabrina as she pulls herself up and looks around her. She sees an empty room and chair next to her bed with her dear boyfriend napping in. She smiles and begins to lean in to kiss him awake. Before she could the door opens with Tia staring in to check if Sabrina is awake.

"Oh great you're awake." Tia smiles and quietly steps in.

"Yeah, how long was I out?" She rubs her eyes and stretches her stiff joints.

"A couple days, Tom's been a nervous wreck." Tia says quietly with a light giggle. "Believe it or not he hasn't left that chair since we got back." This made Sabrina feel even happier. Knowing Tom would sit there waiting just greet her when she woke up.

Tia sits on the side of the bed beside Sabrina and gets a look at Tom. "I hate that I worried him so much." Sabrina says bitterly. "He didn't have to do this." She kind of felt bad that she's caused him so much trouble ever since she started traveling with them.

"Of course he did. 'I'll never leave her again'; I can't tell you how many times he said that." Tia smiles at Sabrina feeling almost a little jealous. "I can only hope someday a guy will love me that much." She giggles, she never even considered a thing like that until she saw Tom's devotion.

"He's a stubborn fool," Sabrina pouts, "but I love him." She smiles and leans in to give him a kiss. This slowly brings him back to consciousness.

He rubs his eyes, "Sabrina?" He looks and confirms it's her. Like a knee jerk reaction he wraps his arms around her and hold her tightly. "Oh thank god you're alright!" Tears escape his eyes. "How do you feel, are you hurt still, do you need more rest?" He asks frantically.

"I'm fine dear, though you are smothering me." She laughs in his chest. Tia joins in the laugh and Tom slowly pulls away. "See I told you I'm fine." She pulls off the covers and slowly starts standing up.

"Here let me help you up." Tom suddenly stands and collapses to the ground when his legs give way under him.

"Tom you've been sitting in that chair for the last two days your legs don't just spring to life after that." Tia laughs and slowly helps Sabrina to her feet.

"Thank you Tia and thank you for the thought dear." She waves down at Tom while he stretch his legs trying to limber them up.

He finally gets to his feet and immediately his head starts to spin and he falls back on the bed. "You also shouldn't stand up too quick if you haven't eaten in a while." Tia explains.

"Yes doctor," He sarcastically replies.

The three of them head into the main room where a full breakfast was waiting for them. "I made a full meal here with all the nutrients you need. Fresh fruit, proteins, whole grains, and fresh glasses of milk." Tia took pride in her cooking even if she doesn't do it so often as she'd like.

"Wow I'm impressed. I had no idea you could cook or maintain a healthy diet?" Tom is surprised by this little factoid.

"Yeah my mom and I would cook all time. I just haven't really been able to with all the traveling. Well, dig in plenty for all of us." She smiles and takes a seat.

Sabrina chuckles and joins Tia. She begins eating is amazed by the taste. "Well this is great." She says happily. "Tom you have to try so of this. She can definitely give you a run for your money." She laughs and chows down.

Tom starts eating and is also very impressed by Tia's cooking skills and how everything was perfectly prepared. "You'll make someone a good wife someday," he teases and plays it straight making Tia blush.

"Thanks Tom," she looks down and imagines the idea of her getting married; setting down and having a family of her own. "I would like that…" Her voice trails off.

"You really need to get laid." Sabrina laughs out loud at Tia's dismay.

"What that hell? I make breakfast and that's what you have to say?" She was livid; she didn't care if Sabrina was still recovering.

"You're right, I'm sorry." She says earnestly and pats Tia on the shoulders. "Honestly, I'm jealous. I burn everything. I'm blessed that Tom is as good a cook as he is." She admits.

"It's not for everyone. My ex would burn everything too." Tia giggles.

"I'm surprised Gary even had the patience to try." Tom comments getting Sabrina's attention.

"What Gary, like Gary Oak?" She asks quizzically.

"Yep, Kanto's very champion." She brags. Though he left shortly after becoming the champ and broke up with her. Since then she hasn't seen him. Tia takes in stride though. Never letting it get her down.

"Former champion you mean?" Sabrina adds.

"Wait what?" She didn't know he was replaced.

"Yeah Gary was beat just as fast as he made it in." Sabrina tells her to Tia's shock.

"He never told me that. _Maybe that's why…_" Tia's voice trails off as she contemplates all this.

"Hey, you two thing we should get going soon?" Tom interrupts the two girls. "We should head to Cinnabar now. We can use Alakazam to take us to Oaks lab and then from there we can head to the south by sea to the island." Tom already had the whole plan thought out way in advance.

"Sounds like a plan!" Tia quickly forget her previous train of thought. "I'll get packed up and we can get going." She declares. She's just as easily distracted by another thought that popped into her head. "Tom I have something I need to ask you." Her whole demeanor turns more serious.

Tom gives her a leery look. "I assume you want to ask X something?" He didn't have to be a mind reader to know where this was heading.

"When you guys recovered me in Vermilion after the incident on the S.S. Anne, why were you just sitting in my room dressed up?" Tia remembers this vividly, but she also questions if it was all just a dream.

Tom tilts his head with a very concerned look. "I wasn't watching you? I was with Jason in the other room. I couldn't have gotten into my costume with him around. I barely got you on deck and changed to _discover _you were there." He gives up allusions of playing dumb.

"Then I guess it must have been a dream or something." Tia shrugs and turns around. "Well, I'll get ready."

"Aw and here I thought we could have some fun first." Sabrina interrupts them with a winks and runs her fingers up Tom's leg.

Tia notices and runs to her door. "I'm going to my room!" She declares.

"Good she's gone; now to the really issue." Her tone hardens and glances at Tom. "The Kanto region is down at least three gym leaders. Possibly two more if Blaine in on this and I don't manage get out of this." Sabrina says with a worried look that she might lose her position's current standing.

"First off, you're fine. We'll clear this up. Second, I have a few strings that might be able to fill some of the vacancies." Tom tells her quietly.

"The league will be having an emergency meeting soon I'm sure. We'll need you there." Sabrina show him her concern.

"Why me? Odds are they won't listen to me." Tom has his doubts about this plan of Sabrina's.

"Erika worships you, Brock trusts you, Blaine respects you, and I love you." Sabrina giggles. "Misty's beat 4-to-1." She laughs.

She leans in and kisses him. He whispers in her ear, "Don't tell Tia anything else about this." Tom looks around cautiously.

"My lips are sealed." She winks.

"I'm also worried about what she just told us." Tom's voice is a whisper that he makes sure only Sabrina can hear.

"You think it might be them?" Even Sabrina's a little on edge about this conversation.

"I don't know why? She's just starting out and hasn't shown any real signs." Tom makes sure to keep any talks vague.

"You question his judgment?" Sabrina says smugly.

Tom shakes his head, "I guess I can't but doesn't change the fact that it's weird." He shakes his head, "Anyway, we need to get ready." His voice returns to its normal level.

"Aw don't you want to have a little fun before we go?" Sabrina grins seductively and licks her lips. "You know we could both use a shower." She traces her fingers over Tom's chest.

"Sabrina, Tia's right there in the next room." He hold steady and tries his hardest to not give in to his temptations.

"You're right," her grin turns devious. Sabrina clears her throat. "Oh Tom, right there. Don't stop!" She shouts towards Tia's door.

The two hear a loud thud and a scream. Sabrina immediately starts laughing. "I will kill you!" They hear Tia's frantic voice muffled from the other side of the door.

"I didn't even do anything!" Tom defends himself.

"Not you!" Tia groans and throws open the door.

"Sorry, I'm just sort of use to it by now." For some reason it felt wrong for him not to be on the receiving end of one of Tia's numerous death threats.

"Did I strike a nerve?" Sabrina stands triumphantly.

Tia sighs, "Yes, I did not appreciate that." Tia explains in a manner that seems completely out of character for her.

"That's it? Well, I don't have a retort for that. Sorry I was being mean." Sabrina scratches her head and concedes defeat.

"Looks like someone found the cinch in your armor." Tom nods looking impressed.

"I'm not going to fan the flames like you want me to. You two can do whatever you want. Just don't talk to me about it." Tia walks past and heads out the door.

"Is she mad?" Sabrina looks to Tom to confirm it.

Tom shakes his head, "She's more upset that you're making fun of her. She doesn't get it's a joke when you do it." Tom knows all too well that Tia's sensitive about that subject matter.

Sabrina crosses her arms and looks down. "I'll go talk to her." She walks past Tom and quickly catches up with Tia. "Hey Tia, I'm sorry about all that before. I thought you knew I was joking."

Tia continues to silently walk down the stairs. "It's okay Sabrina. I know how you feel about Tom so I forgive you." She looks around the Pokemon Center. "Besides, I've learned from all my stays that these walls are paper thin and voices really carry." Now Tia has the triumphant grin.

Sabrina looks around at all the people staring at her. No doubt recognizing she was the one shouting before. Sabrina blushes and begins to laugh, "Well looks like I dug my own grave that time." She extends out a hand. "Friends?"

Tia smiles, "Friends. You morally loose psycho." Tia smirks and draws first blood.

"Glad to hear it you impatient prude." Thus begins the start of a beautifully weird friendship between the two.

Tom heads down the steps and gets them both a group hug. "There, all's well that ends well" He gives them both his signature toothy grin. Sabrina finds it adorable; Tia simply rolls her eyes.

"Dork," Tia smiles and puts an arm around them both. It's definitely not your typical friendship, but Tia couldn't be happier travelling with anyone else.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter and the series as a whole. Well, this was a very dialogue heavy chapter, but I thought a break from all the battles was needed. I finally got to reveal some keep elements and expand more on Tia's personality. Trust me this is only the tip of the iceberg of Tia's healthy living mentality. Girl's a health nut.<p> 


	22. Chapter 22: Cinnabar the Isle of Fire

Chapter 22: Cinnabar the Isle of Fire

After a quick teleport to Professor Oak's lab the three are greeted by the Professor himself. "Well Tia, Tom it's great to see you two again." He says pleasantly. "Sabrina I take it you're doing well yourself." He says innocently enough not knowing her sketchy past with Team Rocket.

"Hi Professor, we just stopped by on our way to Cinnabar. I'm going to get my seventh badge now." Tia proudly flaunts her six other gym badges.

"Seventh badge already? I must say you're doing even better than I thought you would." Oak says happily. "Though I sure hope you at least visit your mother. She's been awfully lonely since you left." A slight frown comes across his face.

Tia walks out the door and run to her house. She playfully knocks on the door with Sabrina and Tom walking up behind.

Her mother walks up to the door. "Coming," She says pleasantly before opening up. She opens up and see Tia. "Dear, you're home!" She embraces her child and hugs her tightly.

"It's nice to see you to mom." She breaks the embrace and introduces the rest. "You remember Tom, and this is Sabrina."

"It's a pleasure," Sabrina says with a pleasant smile. "Your daughter is a wonderful trainer."

"Oh how polite, she gets it from her father." She smiles back and gets Tom's attention.

"Father huh?" Tom gives her a sideways glance.

"Anyways, we were just going now." Tia's cut off by her mom's chatter.

"Yes, you might now him, Noland." She says happily making Tom's eyes dart up.

"Noland, the frontier brain?" Tom hides a bit of discontent. Sabrina picks up on this right away and leads him way from the door. "I hate that man." He spitefully whispers.

"Dear it's alright. What do you have against the Battle Frontier? You've still never told me." She rubs his shoulders and tries to calm him down.

"You're right, it's really just bad blood between me and few of the Frontier Brains. Noland's a very impatient man. It's infuriating. Then again it explains so much." He chuckles. "Then there's me and… never mind." He takes a deep breath.

"Anabel?" She asks sensitively.

He sighs, "Yeah…her." He bites his lip. "Listen I'd rather not talk about that okay?" He gently drops the subject.

Tia comes running up to them. "Well this is awkward." She rubs the back of her head.

"Not at all. Your dad's one of Hoenn's best trainers and you didn't tell me. I can totally see how that could slip someone's mind." Tom laughs it off without being the slightest bit sarcastic. He walks off cheerfully. Though Tom being one for keeping secrets himself it doesn't really bother him.

"Was that sarcasm?" Tia asks Sabrina who's just as confused as she is.

"I don't know?" She's genuinely curious about it now. "Anyway, so we're all riding on Gyarados I guess?" She asks Tia.

"Actually, I have an idea of my own." Tom takes out a Pokeball. "Tia you can ride on Gyarados, but I now there's no sense in hiding the fact I'm a trainer." He tosses the ball in the air and release a Pokémon into the water. A long majestic figure springs out like a serpent. "Meet my Milotic. Beautiful and powerful; just like my lovely Sabrina." He smiles and puts an arm around her.

"How sweet," Sabrina chirps, "I haven't seen her in a long time." Sabrina walks up and strokes Milotic's beautiful, glistening scales. "She was the first gift I ever got you. I raised her careful. I didn't want to admit it, but I was so jealous of how well you got along with Pokémon." She smiles nostalgically. Milotic rubs her cheek against Sabrina as to greet an old friend.

"I remember, she was one of the best gifts I'd ever gotten." He always admired Milotic's beauty and grace.

"Your Milotic is so pretty." Tia admires the long, majestic water type. "So do you just secretly have a full team of six on you?" She asks Tom slyly.

"Maybe…" He teases her and hops on Milotic's back. "My lady," He extends out an arm and pulls Sabrina onto Milotic's back.

Tia sighs, "I don't knows what's worse all the sexual innuendo or all the romancing."

"You're never satisfied are you?" Tom pokes fun. "Well anyway we should get going."

The group get on their respective Pokémon and ride off over the crystal clear waters. The gentle sea breeze brushes through Tia's hair making her think about her first time on a cruise liner where she learned to love the sea.

She takes a deep breath, "Don't you just love that sea air?" She chirps. Tom and Sabrina smile and admire the view of ocean all around them. Pokémon spring out of the water and swim alongside them. Tia giggles and looks down at them. She feels so at peace on the sea, she wishes that she could travel more on the ocean. Especially on a cruise ship.

The three of them touch down on Cinnabar Island and take a deep breath. "I love the fresh island air." Tom says peacefully.

Sabrina dismounts from Milotic and does a quick stretches. She gives Tom a sultry grin and pulls off her clothes revealing a ravishing lavender bikini she had worn in the photo shoot. Tom is absolutely tantalized by Sabrina.

"Hello old friend, it's been too long." Tom gets down and puts his arms around Sabrina.

"Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" Tia shouts as Gyarados drenches Tom and Sabrina. "Sorry you two looked like you could use a cold shower." She laughs childishly.

"Well that thoroughly ruined the mood. You win this time Tia." Tom submits and takes off his own clothes until he was in a swimsuit he had been wearing underneath as well.

Sabrina pulls a towel out of her bag and spreads it across the sands. "Well if you two need me I'll be over here working on my tan." She puts on a pair of sunglasses and sprawls herself across her towel.

"Tia you have to be burning up, put on a swimsuit." Tom suggests.

"Good idea, might as well work on my tan too… wait I'm here for a battle not leisure!" She stomps the ground and storms into the changing room. She steps out a few moments later with a modest light blue swimsuit. Not showing off too much, but peeks a bit of cleavage for anyone with a curious eye. "Here we go, fashionable and tasteful." She can already see a few guys giving her a once over. "What do you think Tom?" She strikes a pose.

"It's nice." This is all he has to say and continues admiring Sabrina.

"Nice? Hey I'm worth at least a 'wow' or 'very nice'." She pouts.

"Fine, very nice." He brushes her off.

"Well then what would you say about Sabrina?" She asks.

"In a word: sexy." He laughs as Tia blushes furiously. She struts past him and makes her way to the gym getting a lot of guys' attention. Tom walks up beside Tia and thinks back to his last visit to Cinnabar. The gym is in sight as Tom immediately recognizes an older man with a lab coat on as he talks to another person wearing some kind of uniform. Before he can say anything he hears Blaine shout something to the uniformed man.

"For the last time, I'm done doing research for you and your group!" Blaine shouts in anger. "Now leave or I will have to use force." He says before noticing Tom.

"Blaine is everything alright?" Tom speaks up.

"Oh Tom, it's been too long. How are you young man?" Blaine says in the kindest tone.

Tom notices the man beside him is a Rocket grunt. "Fine. Tell me why is Team Rocket here?" His eyes fixate on the grunt and glare at him like daggers.

Blaine sighs, "I'd rather not talk about, please. Who is your friend?" He looks over at Tia.

"Hello Mr. Blaine, my name's Tia. I would also like to know why this peon is rearing his ugly head." Tia makes sure to ask in a tone that sounded as polite as possible.

"Hey, I'm here on official business. This is a business negotiation and he's not keeping up his end of his bargain." The grunt threatens.

"I told you, I'm through doing your malicious research. We've tortured to many Pokémon!" He exclaims.

The grunt starts to speak up before Tom interrupts him. "The man said he's done talking to you." He and Tia step in front of him crossing their arms.

"You think I came here without some back up?" The grunt rebukes.

As the words leave his mouth Sabrina walks up dragging a grunt behind her. "I found this leech washed up on the beach." She let him go to the other grunts dismay.

"So four on one good enough odds for you?" Tia taunts him.

"You don't think he was my only back up do you?" He pulls out a radio. "He's refusing to cooperate seize the experiment." The grunt instructs.

"What are you planning?" Blaine grabs him by the collar.

"We're taking what's rightfully ours." Grunts pile out of the Pokémon lab with a head grunt holding a Pokeball of some kind.

"Men looks like we'll have some resistance." The top dog snaps his fingers and Pokeballs fly through the air. Easily one hundred Pokémon emerge in front of the four of them.

They instantly retaliate. Tom calls our Arcanine, Tia sends out Venasaur, Sabrina with her Gallade, and Blaine with an Arcanine of his own.

"We're not afraid of a bunch of weak Pokémon like yours." Tia goads them further ready for a serious fight.

"Is that so? Well good thing I have this!" The man reveals the Pokeball he had stolen and demonstrates that it's a Master Ball. "I present to you one of the greatest of all Pokémon." He tosses the ball into the air. In the flash of light a huge beam of psychic energy blasts through the air instantly knocking out Tom's Arcanine.

He stands awestruck and speechless staring down the legendary Mewtwo. "Mew…Mewtwo!" Tom shutters. "You captured him?" He could feel nothing but pure unrelenting hatred coming from it. "What have they done to you?" He collapses to his knees and clasps his head.

"Tom please snap out of it!" Tia shacks him trying to bring him back.

"Tia you can't fight that thing, none of our Pokémon can." He steels himself and swallows deeply, recalling his Arcanine. "Sabrina you know what to do." He reaches into his bag for a Pokeball of his own.

Sabrina is the first one to call out the ace up her sleeve. "I wasn't expecting to need you. Well come on out Meloetta!" The legendary Melody Pokémon gracefully enters the field in her Aria form.

Tom stands up with his Pokeball looking absolutely menacing. "I'm sorry everyone, I don't want you to have to see this side of me, but I have no choice." He puts on his X mask and tosses the ball high into the sky. A shadow figure flies through the air and with a single roar the clouds part and dissipate revealing the legendary dragon. "Behold the mightiest of all dragons: Rayquaza!" He shouts to the heavens as the Sky High Pokémon's roar echoes throughout the whole island.

Tia drops to her knees amazed by the sheer power Rayquaza and Tom were giving off. This is what means to have captured a legendary Pokémon. Their powers are insurmountable. She feels so out classed and so weak by comparison.

"Now you can see the power of the Indigo league champion!" Tom boldly declares further surprising Tia.

"Tom… you're the league champion?" She couldn't believe her eyes. This guy she always knew to be docile was such a vicious fighter and the head of the league. Her perceptions of him have been shaken to the core.

Tom didn't hear a word she had said and process to drop a huge blast on the grunts' Pokémon. Tia finally regains her composure and starts to fight off the grunt with Venasaur.

Meanwhile the real battle unfolds. "I don't care if you're the league champ or not. I'll beat you all the same. Mewtwo Psychic!" Mewtwo's attack flies through the air missing Rayquaza and his incredible speed.

"You did horrible things to that innocent Pokémon. Concern yourself lucky if you come out of here alive." He's voice was cold as ice. The voice was still distorted with his mask on which only made Tom sound all the more malicious. Sabrina takes some of the heat off of Rayquaza would is whirling through the air dodging attack after attack. Meloetta blasts a Shadow Ball grazing Mewtwo's arm. This only further enrages the Pokémon.

"Please Mewtwo you weren't met for this, you don't have to fight like this. Please, it's me, Blaine! Remember I found you and you joined me." He begs his former Pokémon. Arcanine jumps in front of Blaine anticipation the attack Mewtwo was no doubt going to send his way. Mewtwo's hate filled Psychic blasts Arcanine similarly to how Tom's went down. "Arcanine!" He cries out and recalls him to the Pokeball. "Please listen to me!"

Tom knew it was to no avail, Mewtwo's in a fit of pure rage. He can feel the pain it felt and it killed him. "Dragon Pulse!" He orders to his Rayquaza. The hit was dead on but still didn't seem to do much to Mewtwo.

"Meloetta use Relic Song." She tells her Pokémon the attack also proves to be far less than useful as the fits of rage continue. Meloetta transform into her Pirouette Form. "Good, Close Combat." She flawlessly executes the next attack and jabs Mewtwo several times before backing off. "Meloetta hop on Rayquaza's back!" Meloetta twirls and spins onto Rayquaza who flies by at top speed. "Relic Song!" She orders.

Meloetta changes back to her Aria form with a swift hit to Mewtwo. Finally it looks like Mewtwo is starting to get a little fatigued.

"Sabrina have Meloetta use Psychic. I'll have Rayquaza use Hyper Beam." Tom instructs. The Pokemon get in range of the allusive and enraged Pokemon.

Mewtwo moves rapidly through air teleporting from side to side. Mewtwo sends a powerful Psystrike at Rayquaza's side. Rayquaza cringes, coils, and contorts himself into position so he may attack Mewtwo. A huge beam of energy erupts right in Mewtwo's face as Meloetta uses Psychic in a double team attack.

Mewtwo instantly retaliates with a Hyper Beam of its own. Rayquaza uses the last of his strength to clasp on to Mewtwo with his teeth and proceeded to plow into the ground head first. Meloetta flies off in the nick of time as the two powerhouses of Pokemon crash. After the smoke clears a huge crater was all that remained with Mewtwo lying on the ground with Rayquaza sprawled triumphantly over it with a claw around its neck.

Tia finishes off the last of the peons around her and runs over to Tom and the others. "Tom you did it!" She shouts triumphantly.

He turns sharply and glares with bloodlust in his single exposed eye. He removes his mask revealing an even more terrifying expression. She feels his hatred like it was emanating from him like heat.

He walks up to the man who captured Mewtwo and grabs him by throat and lifts him off his feet. "You will leave now, you will quit team rocket, and if I ever see you again I will personally kill you myself." Tom is not kidding around and that very fact scared Tia to death.

The grunt drops a Pokeball from his hand as a Machamp emerges. It pulls back and throws a punch at Tom. Further amazing Tia the punch stops just shy of Tom.

The Machamp lifts in the air with its Pokeball and is called back. Sabrina walks up with her finger tips pressed against her temple and deep in concentration. Her psychic abilities are strong enough to stop a Machamp.

"That was your last mistake." He tightens his grip slowly crushing this man's windpipe. Blaine walks up behind Tom and puts a hand on his shoulder shaking his head. Tom scowls and drops him. "Consider yourself lucky this time." Tom walks away taking Mewtwo's Pokeball. He returns Mewtwo handing it to Blaine.

"Thank you Tom, I don't think I could have done it without you and Sabrina. And of course your friend Tia." Blaine smiles politely.

"Me, I didn't do anything?" She said modestly.

"No true. I don't think I could have fought off all those grunts like you did with your Venasaur." He says whole heartedly.

Tom takes note of this and walks over to Rayquaza. "You fought well old friend. Now rest." He calls back his legendary Pokémon and collapses.

"Tom!" Tia panics. Sabrina walks up to him and slumps him over her shoulder and smiles softly.

"It's okay he just exerted a lot of energy. Tom hasn't battled like that in a very long time." Sabrina explains.

"I had no idea he was so vicious?" Tia is still amazed by Tom's display.

"He's one of the best, that cold, ruthless battling style is one of the reason I fell in love with him. Though, his calm, collected side is a wonderful trait itself." She laughs. "He'll be out for a while. Here let's head to the center. There I'll answer any questions you might have." Sabrina walks along with Tom over her shoulder to the Pokémon Center.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review on your thoughts on the chapter as well as your thoughts on the series as a whole. So that was definitely one of the more intense chapters to date. This is a small sample of how things will progress in the future. Not every battle will be as colossal as this, but I really want to step up the level of detail and having more powerful Pokemon makes that possible. I'm also grab to finally reveal the truth about Tom.<p> 


	23. Chapter 23: The Truth Comes Out

Chapter 23: The Truth Comes Out

Sabrina and Tia sit patiently at a table in the room in front of a fresh cooked meal, compliments of Tia.

"Well, I have to say you are a wonderful cook." Sabrina compliments.

"Thanks Sabrina that means a lot." She smiles. "So please tell me. Tom is actually the Indigo League champion?" It seems all too surreal in her head.

"Yeah, for the past year at least. I'm surprised you didn't know that? You were dating Gary you said?" Sabrina did not know the whole situation between those two.

"Yeah, until he decided to just leave for Unova. I haven't heard from him since." She says holding up well at least.

Sabrina bites her lip, "Um… Tia, he left because Tom beat him. He stormed out of the league saying he'd become strong enough to be champion again." Sabrina tells her carefully.

"Wait so it's Tom's fault he broke up with me?" The irony strikes her immediately.

"Please don't be mad at him." Sabrina begs.

Tia chuckles, "I'm not mad at Tom. The writing was on the wall anyways it's not like I'd be able to talk about it like this if I hadn't go over him. At least I didn't do anything crazy like try to take over Kanto when my boyfriend left without a word." She gives her a snarky grin.

Sabrina returns the gesture. "Cute," she says with biting sarcasm, "I never said I was proud of what I did." She clarifies.

"So tell me more about Tom. Like how he caught Rayquaza?" She sits on the edge of her seat wanting to know everything about him now that she knows how powerful he really is.

"Growing up I was very arrogant. I wanted a trophy so I pursued a legendary Pokémon. I scaled Sky Pillar Tower; damn near killed myself doing it." Tia is alerted by Tom's voice. "Once I discovered my Empath powers I started to become more calm and relaxed. Old habits die hard though. I'll always be a vicious battler. That's why I choose not to battle anymore." He explains.

Sabrina walks over to him and gives him a soft kiss on the lips. "Now honey, you've always been a kind and gentle guy. You're just a serious battler. Kind of a turn on if you ask me." She gives him a sultry smile.

Tia rolls her eyes, "Well at any rate that was eye opening. I never knew you were such a strong trainer with even more powerful Pokémon than I could imagine." She is very impressed with him now which drivers her to try even harder.

"Anything else you'd like to know? I figure it's all out in the open now." He offers.

Tia jumps on this chance. "How do you know my dad?" She wastes no time with the questioning.

Tom sighs, "Scott, the man who runs the Battle Frontier, asked me to be a frontier brain. That's where I met Noland. For a few reason I shouldn't go into; I declined. He's the only frontier brain I met, and the only one who knows I was contacted." He says, but still hides something. He notices her about to speak up. "There's some bad blood between me and a few frontier brains." He stretches and lets out a yawn. "Anyway you off to face Blaine now?"

Tia springs up, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" She says in panic and runs out the door. Both Tom and Sabrina look back at each other curious. Tia runs back in the room, "Forgot my Pokeballs!" She shouts grabbing her belt and running off again.

"She forgot she was still her night gown too." Sabrina points out.

"Happens a lot more than one would think should apparently." Tom thinks back the last time and a few instances Tia had mentioned. "Well, now what?" Tom asks not sure if she'll come back again or when that ball of energy would come bursting through the door next.

"I was going to head down the beach and work on my tan. Want to join me?" She offers with a sultry grin already in her swimsuit. Tom nods and runs back to his room and emerges a moment later.

"I'm ready when you are." He says with his swimsuit on and a towel around his next. "Also, I'd feel bad if Cleffa missed out on this." He lets Cleffa out and picks her up in his arms. He rubs his cheek against her affectionately. "I'm sure you were in your Pokeball for so long sweetly." He says cooing and coddling his Pokémon.

Sabrina can't help but smile seeing Tom so laid back and happy. On one hand she's see the destructive side of him and attracted to his unprecedented power. On the other hand, she loved his calm tender side as well. She gets up and grabs her towel and slings it over her shoulders and walks up to Tom and gives him a quick kiss.

He looks happy. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Sabrina says as sweetly as she can and puts her arm around his.

Tom also can't help being happy as can be. In light of everything he's still able to be in peace with the two girls he loves the most: Cleffa and Sabrina.

The peace and tranquility is suddenly interrupted, "Is this a bad time?" A distorted voice says from behind them.

Both immediately whip their heads around and see a man in a black suit and blank white mask very similar to Tom's. Tom snarls, "God have you ever heard of knocking Adam?"

"Don't blame me, I'm just doing my job here." He sounds more irritated that anything. He holds up a folder. "This is what I woke up to this morning. Any idea what it is?" He tosses it on the desk. Inside are a series of pictures, reports, and statements from witnesses. "Apparently reports say three legendary Pokemon were scene running rampant on Cinnabar Island."

Tom meets Adam's intense stare. "Team Rocket stole Mewtwo and were performing experiments on him. We had no choice."

"You expect me to believe that _you _couldn't beat a legendary Pokemon without resorting to using Rayquaza?" Adam has a hard time believe this. "Either you've gotten really soft or you let your emotions get the better of you." Adam has Tom pegged. Tom knew full well he acted impulsively against Mewtwo.

Sabrina speaks up. "We had to use our legends otherwise the collateral damage would have been far worse. There were way too many Team Rocket grunts to deal with." Sabrina's logic is not wrong, but Adam doesn't seem too pleased either way.

"The fact remains that you revealed your Pokemon to bystanders. That's a huge risk, you know that." He chastises the both of them.

"Like you people are ones to talk. What's with you spying on Tia?" Tom gets right to his point. "Yeah, so knows you were watching her that night in Vermilion City."

Adam sighs and removes his mask. He rubs his forehead. Under his mask he is a normal guy just like Tom. His eyes are a dull brown and fatigued. "I wasn't spying on her." Adam's voice is deep and mature. He's several years older than Sabrina and it definitely shows.

"Then which one of your people was it?" Tom continues to glare.

"First off, aren't _you _one of our people Mr. Mysterious Trainer X?" He calls out Tom's grandstanding acts. "Second, I think we both know who was spying on her."

"Seriously, who keeps letting her out of the base?" Tom groans knowing exactly who he is referring to.

"I don't know." Adam gives up and focuses on the issue at hand. "We're trying to cover this up as much as possible, but it's not going to be easy. Just refrain from using your legends from here on out." Adam carefully instructs them both with his most serious look.

"Yes mom," Tom rolls his eyes.

"You are such a child. Sabrina talk some sense into your dumbass boyfriend before my head explodes." Adam has never been Tom's biggest fan. The constant defiance certainly didn't help matters.

Sabrina looks around nervously, "Actually I think Tom has a point. I know we need to keep this a secret, but we can handle ourselves just fine. We caught these legendary Pokemon because we were strong enough to. We don't need to enter into some sort of witness protection program." Sabrina continues to be the most logical and level headed of the three. "We already hold back by not using them in normal battles, but this was an extreme case. We could have lost Mewtwo to Giovanni and Team Rocket if we didn't stop them then and there."

"Not you too," he just groans and rolls his eyes.

"Face it Adam, we're entering the golden age of Pokemon trainers. Legends are being caught at an extraordinary rate." Tom smiles mischievous as to allude to something else. "And I want to be the one in the lead when that time comes."

"My, my where did this bravado come from? Here I thought you'd decided to stop battling?" Sabrina teases, but she is very happy to see her old Tom back.

He smirks, "I guess you could say I'm coming out of retirement then."

Adam gives up and puts back on his mask, "There really is no reasoning with you is there? Never the less we've got eyes everywhere and we will be watching." Adam cautions them and calls out a Xatu who teleports him away.

"Well that was fun," Tom says with biting sarcasm as he picks up his towel and Cleffa. "What is his problem anyway?"

Sabrina pauses, "Tom, I was wondering. Do you think Tia will be like us?" She sounds a little worried.

Tom mulls it over for a second. "The way she is now, no. She'll have to learn for herself and even then I doubt it." He stops for a second and exhales. A smile crosses his face and he takes Sabrina's hand. "Let's head to the beach. This is what I care about right now."

Sabrina smiles and laces fingers with Tom. She stands close to him and walks out with him. She leans against his shoulder while they walk. For all his faults Sabrina would still choose Tom over anyone else. One thing definitely sticks out in her mind though. He was right, an age of greatness is on the horizon and she too wants to face it head on.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy. Don't forget to leave a review about your thoughts on this chapter or the story as a whole. The plot thickens, this chapter is one that I really wanted to draw attention to. The fact that this series will lead to something far more grand then just travelling from region to region getting badges. Intense battles, numerous characters, and more than a few side stories will be coming as time goes on. I look forward to sharing them all with everyone.<p> 


	24. Chapter 24: A White Hot Battle

Chapter 24: A White Hot Battle

Tia runs through the town still unaware of what she's wearing and storms the gym. "Blaine, I'm here to challenge you!" She shouts with such force and zeal it immediately calls attention and freaks everyone out in the gym. One scientist in particular panics and tosses a pile of Pokeballs in the air.

"Use your inside voice! This is a gym not a super dome." The nervous scientist says.

Blaine walks up laugh and gives Tia an inviting and firm handshake. "Good to see ya Tia. Although, what's with the clothes did you forget to get dressed?"

Tia looks down and notices her night gown and panics. "Ah, I did it again!" She shouts in embarrassment. "Why does it have to be so comfy? Dammit, now I have to run all the way back to the Pokémon Center!" She just about bolts out the door when Blaine puts a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, we probably have something for you here." He escorts her over to a clothing rack with all sorts of swimsuits.

"Um…why all the swimsuits Blaine?" She can't help wonder why a guy his age has all these women's swimsuits. As awkward as it is she manages to find one she likes.

He laughs, "Good choice and to answer your question, we sell them on the side. Don't worry I have men's swimsuits too. I'm not just some creepy old man." He pats her on the back and takes her to a dressing room.

Tia steps out in a cute, red two piece with a Pokeball symbol on the top. She gives herself a once over to make sure it's not too revealing or too modest. "Oh I like this." She strikes a pose and decides to keep it. She hands over Blaine the money.

"Perfect, now that's settled let's have that gym battle!" He says eagerly. He leads her to the back of the gym where the stadium sat. "You know the rules: this will be a one-on-one Pokémon League gym battle. The battlers will continue fighting until a Pokémon is unable to battle. If the challenger is able to beat the gym leader they will be awarded a gym badge as a sign of victory. Send out your first Pokémon." Blaine repeats the same song and dance and sends out his first Pokémon: Rapidash.

Tia smirks, "We've got this one in the bag isn't that right Gyarados?" She sends out her Gyarados who lets out a vicious roar that shakes the entire arena practically.

"That's the spirit, let's begin!" He points forward as Rapidash begins running forward. "Use Stomp!" Rapidash responds quickly avoiding Gyarados as he whips his tail about. Rapidash brutally crashes down on Gyarados's back and hops off and trots back over to Blaine ready for whatever Gyarados is going to unleash.

"Gyarados stay sharp you might have the advantage, but we can't underestimate it. Use Water Pulse!" She commands.

"I don't think so. Rapidash use bounce!" Rapidash leaps into the air narrowly avoiding the attack and rapidly descends onto Gyarados.

"Gyarados use Bite!" Tia orders right as Rapidash pounces on Gyarados he opens his mouth and bites on Rapidash's leg and flings it around and sends it flying across the battlefield. While Rapidash tries to recover Tia jumps on the opportunity to attack again. "Water Pulse!" The attack is a direct hit this time. Rapidash slow stammers to its feet ready for the next command from its trainer.

"Agility!" Blaine commands, but it was too slow. By the time Rapidash is able to move again. Gyarados was looming over head.

"Aqua Tail!" Tia says triumphantly as her Pokémon whips its tail sweeping Rapidash off its feet. Blaine sighs and calls his Pokémon back.

He smiles, "Very good, my Rapidash's speed is hard to beat. Now the fun can begin. Go Magmar!" He calls out his next Pokémon and Magmar immediately erupts a spout of flames from its mouth eager to start the battle.

"I'm looking forward to this one." Tia smiles really feeling the adrenaline now. "Go use another Water Pulse! You're faster than this Magmar." Tia feels confident Gyarados can take anything Blaine throws at them. Gyarados thrashes around spraying water all over the place at Magmar.

Blaine's Pokémon doesn't seem to care too much as it hops about back and forth avoiding the attack. "Sunny Day Magmar, then let's see a Lava Plume!" Blaine orders confidently. Between avoiding Gyarados Magmar calls up to the sky making the sun bright down through the windows above. Blaine smirks mischievously, "Now things get fun." He says to himself. Magmar stretches out its arms and shouts sending bursts of lava from around it plowing into Gyarados. Gyarados brushes off most of the damage and hurls more Water Pulses Magmar's way with a variety of hits and misses in the process. "Okay Magmar her have it, Fire Blast!" Blaine orders.

"Oh no you don't use Hydro Pump!" The two Pokemon charge at each other full force. Magmar blows hard release a barrage of fire while Gyarados spits out a torrent of water right at Magmar. The two attack collide and create a huge blast of steam while the rest of the attack connected perfect with each Pokémon. Once the steam cleared the two see both Pokémon lying on the ground unable to battle.

"So both Pokémon took each other out that's rare." Blaine laughs and recalls his Pokémon. "The show must go on, come on out Heatmor!" He calls out a strange anteater Pokemon which spits fire from its mouth. "I know this isn't quite a legally sanctioned Pokemon for the Kanto League, but I really wanted to test him out on a strong opponent."

"In that case I'll use my Ninetales!" All the excitement is really getting her blood pumping. Ninetales elegantly takes the field and basks in the sunlight shining in from above. "Thanks to Flash Fire your fire type moves don't have any affect. Well they do make my Ninetales stronger so feel free to hit me." Tia teases.

"I know girl, that's why I'm taking this chance while I can. Stockpile!" He shouts to his Pokémon who takes in a deep breath and bolsters its defenses.

"Calm Mind Ninetales." Tia says confidently. "While you're at it use Psyshock." Tia uses this chance to demonstrate a new move her Ninetales learned. The fox stares down its opponent and sends a wave of psychic energy. Heatmor takes it confidently and readies another stockpile. "Use it again Ninetales!" Tia points at her opponent ready for the finishing blow.

"Not this time, dodge and then Hone Claw." Blaine says calmly. Heatmor does just that and sharpens its claws ready to attack whenever. "Good now for the final Stockpile." Blaine carefully watches Ninetales who was already on the offensive.

"Ninetales give it a Return." Tia pulls out all the stops. She wanted to make sure she'd taught her Ninetales plenty of attacks to make her stronger. Getting right in the Fire types face Ninetales unleashes a fully powered Return on the Heatmor. Its defense buffs are about the only reason it could stand that direct hit.

Blaine laughs, "Now for the finale: Spit up!" With all three stockpiles and the boost from Hone Claws Heatmor blasts every last bit of energy it could from its mouth right at Ninetales who had no choice but to take it from so close up. Ninetales goes down instantly and stammers to its feet. "I'm impressed most Pokémon wouldn't be able to withstand a full frontal assault like that and be able to continue." Blaine says proudly.

"Come on Ninetales you have it in you for one last attack." The fox Pokémon gets to its feet and starts to charge forward. "It might not be much but we have to try, Quick Attack!" Ninetales runs until it's a mere blur surprising Blaine and Heatmor when Ninetales appears in front of it and plows head first into it. Heatmor goes skidding across the battlefield and finally collapses.

Blaine smiles and concedes. "Well I know when I've been beat. Very good Tia, you deserves this gym badge." He produces the Flame Badge and happily hands it to her.

"Yes, my seventh gym badge!" She declares jumping for joy and striking a pose. "I can't wait to show the others." She giggles and runs out the gym door.

Blaine smiles and watches her run off when suddenly he gets a phone call.

Tia runs down to the beach where she spotted Sabrina sun bathing next to Tom and Cleffa who are building a sand castle. "Guys, I did it!" Tia shouts making Sabrina jump out of her seat.

"Warn a girl next time!" Sabrina did not enjoy having her rest disturbed. She spots the gym badge and does crack a smile. "Good job," she says before lying back down.

"I'm glad you were able to beat Blaine. Also, gotta admit you look cute in that swimsuit." Tom chuckles making Tia blush and Sabrina glare. "What it's just a compliment?"

"Whatever that's not the point. Now we can get the last of the gym badges!" She says excitedly. "That means I can finally take down Giovanni once and for all!" She declares to the heavens.

Tom frowns, "It's not going to be that easy Giovanni is the strongest of the gym leaders. The Elite Four chose him because of this very fact." Tom cautions.

"You sound like you're saying I can't beat him?" She says offended.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. He's going to stop at nothing to finish you off, life or death. He'll make sure that only one of you walks out alive. I'll warm you right now. His Ryperior is by far the biggest threat." Tom continues staring Tia down intensely. "I hope you win, but in the end he's out for blood."

Tia swallows a lump in her throat and hears Blaine shouting their names. "Everyone we have an emergency on the mainland." He flails his arms getting everyone's attention. He stops to catch his breath. "Viridian City's on total lock down. Rocket goons are patrolling every inch of the city from what Oak told me." He explains to them.

Sabrina springs to her feet. "No time to rest them, we need to teleport back now!" Sabrina grabs her Pokeballs.

Tom puts his hand forward. "No, we can't teleport in they'll be expecting that. We need to fly in." Tom says tactically.

"But I don't have a flying type." Tia admits.

Blaine grabs one of his belt. "Here you can use this. It's an Aerodactyl I revived from a fossil. He can fly at extremely high speeds, he'll get you back to the mainland in no time." Blaine instructs her and carefully leaves it in her hands.

"Get your things and let's go." Tom says and runs back to the center with the others. They all quickly get changed and meet up back outside. Tia pulls out the Pokeball and call out Aerodactyl.

She approaches it as it looks at her. "Hi there Aerodactyl. I'm your new trainer." She pets its head and tries to make him trust her. The fossil Pokémon instantly takes a liking to her and snuggles his head against her.

Tom takes a deep breath. "Try to keep up Tia." He says pulling out his Pokeball. "It's been a while since I've needed you." He says to himself. Tom drops the ball on the ground and lets the Pokémon emerge high in the air like a blur of light. "My first Pokémon and most powerful companion: Flygon." He says solemnly as it descends down with a powerful roar. Flygon affectionate rubs its head against Tom happy to be out of the ball and with its master. He hops on Flygon's back and extends a hand for Sabrina who climbs on behind him.

"Okay Tom we ready to take off." Tia mounts up on Aerodactyl. He nods and slowly rises in the air on the back of his trusty dragon and takes off in a flash. Flygon's speed is unimaginable Tia's Aerodactyl couldn't begin to keep with Flygon. Sabrina herself had to hang onto Tom for dear life unless she wanted to go flying.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to leave a review on this chapter or on your thoughts of the series as a whole. Hard to believe this arc is beginning to wrap up. I wanted a unique spin on Blaine's battle so I thought throwing in a Unova Pokemon would mix things up a bit.<p> 


	25. Chapter 25: The Battle Heard Around

Chapter 25: The Battle Heard Around the World

The three touchdown in Viridian City making sure not to get caught. Tom and the others have their game faces on ready to strike.

"Tom, Sabrina take care of the grunts around town. I'm going after Giovanni." Tia cracks her knuckles.

Tom shakes his head, "I'm not letting you take him on alone." He couldn't let her run head first into a suicide mission.

She brushes it off, "No, this is my fight! I need my badge and I'm going to earn it no matter what." She says determined as can be. "You can't stop me Tom."

She runs off towards the gym with her Aerodactyl. Tom starts after her, but is interrupted when Sabrina grabs his shoulder. "Let her go, if worse comes to worse we can run in and save her." Sabrina has faith in her though.

The two of them stand in front of a growing crowd of grunts. Tom uses his trusty Flygon and Sabrina calls out her own Alakazam. Tom takes a deep breath, "I hope you'll allow me to get a little intense." He smiles maliciously and grabs his mask. His blood was pumping like he's filled with the thrill of the hunt. "Flygon, rain hell!" Flygon flies high above the clouds and lets out a mighty roar. "Hope they like Draco Meteor." He says sadistically.

The attack is brutal and wipes out a huge surplus of Pokemon with a single attack. The numbers continue however. It would be a hopeless situation if it were anyone else, but both Tom and Sabrina can fight off Team Rocket grunts like no one's business. This does have Sabrina concerned though. She looks around at the small town which is flooding with Pokemon all out to get them. Yes, Tom's and her Pokemon can take quite a few hits, but still they also have their limits. While Team Rocket's army seems to be limited.

She gives a quick glance. Surrounded on all side. "This looks pretty bad doesn't it?" Sabrina smiles calmly with her back to her boyfriend.

"Yeah, it'll take a miracle to beat them all." Knowing Tom he of course is betting on that miracle or making one of his own. He didn't to be champion by surrendering so easily. "Flygon hit them with a Dragon Claw!" Flygon swoops down at near Mach speeds as its claws glow with pure energy and claws through its foes.

"Alakazam use Psychic!" Sabrina's own Pokemon is making a dent in Team Rocket's ranks. She knew firsthand the fortitude of Giovanni's troops. "This is getting us nowhere fast." While she says this both their Pokemon are fending off attacks.

Amongst the group of grunts stands one man who comes forth. His eyes are just as sharp and commanding as Giovanni's. "You two, are you ready to surrender?" He has a cocky smirk across his face making him perfect for a leadership position.

"You wish," Tom himself refuses to back down or be threatened by some mock leader. "You think I'll let Team Rocket win after all this?" Tom's eyes narrow as her walks up to the man. "I will destroy your organization brick by brick until Rocket no longer exists."

"You just sealed your fate then boy." He snaps his fingers and grunts around him and Sabrina. All carrying more Pokeballs.

As they call out their Pokemon a faint voice is heard in the distance. "Starmie Hydro Pump!" A girl's voice cries out as a whirling purple figure flies by dowsing a lot of Pokemon in high powered bursts of water.

"Mist?" Tom looks back and sees the water gym leader running into the fray. Behind her an Onix erupts from the ground taking several more Pokemon with it. "Brock too?" Tom's surprised and amazed.

"Don't forget me," a sing song voice cheers as a burst of concentrated sunlight fries more of the grunts' Pokemon. Erika playfully runs over to Tom and the others.

Blaine soon runs up behind her with his Arcanine fighting through waves of enemies. "You don't really think we'd let you fight for Kanto all by yourselves do you?"

His friends and fellow league members have come to bail them out and stop Team Rocket once and for all. Tom looks back at the group leader. "Well, I've always wanted to do this. Today the Kanto League declares war on Team Rocket!" He points with determination at the leader. "This will be the first and last battle of the War for Kanto." Tom's bravado and grand standing makes this almost feel as if this were a proper war. Which if Tom gets his way this very well may be the War for Kanto his so boldly claimed. That is certainly what is at stake here.

The gym leaders all split up and attack key sections. Misty's Starmie sends of Rapid Spin through a huge crowd. One Pokemon, a Kangaskhan, manages to wrestle Starmie down and get in a few clean hits. "I don't think so," Misty has a fierce gleam in her eye as she fights. She wasn't about to be victim to Team Rocket again. Tia taught her a lot that day. So Starmie fires a Hydro Pump point blank and rapidly continues its assault.

On the other end of the battlefield Brock continues to fight with his Onix close to his side. With a mighty swing of the tail Onix makes quick work of the pissants surrounding it. "I didn't get to fight Team Rocket much yet, but these guys are pushovers." Brock gloats he continues making mincemeat out of them.

"Tom when we're done here I could really go for some tea." Erika giggles as she fawns over her, not, brother. She doesn't seem to be paying the slightest bit of attention, but that doesn't mean Vileplume isn't making sure to beat down every Pokemon in its way. A few fire type step in to stop her Pokemon, but Blaine's Arcanine stomps them real quickly.

The leader of this army watches on in horror as his team of grunts is getting leveled by only five people. He picks up a walkie-talkie, "Looks like you'll be needed after all." He says so begrudgingly, but he did at least have a contingency plan if this went south.

Two trainers suddenly teleport in. One, a guy looking only slightly older than Tom. The other, a woman about the same age. Both of them have tanned skin like dried sand. The guy wears an open, black trench cloak with a white uniform under it. The girl, a white lab coat. Beside her stands a Xatu and beside his stood a Slaking.

Tom trembles as he looks at both Pokemon in terror. "Ahh!" He cries out in pain clasping his head. "What…what are those…things?" He couldn't believe those were Pokemon. He felt nothing but hatred coming from either.

The girl raises an eye brow. "Interesting, I've never seen someone react that way to a Shadow Pokemon?" She gets a mischievous look about her. "Could he be one of those Empaths we heard about?"

The partner doesn't look as amused. "So this is the mess you send us in to clean up?" He looks at the poor resistance Team Rocket is putting up. "Pathetic, you know this will cost you extra right?" He looks over at the man who called them in.

"I'll double Cipher's pay of you eliminate these brats!" He points to Tom and Sabrina.

"Deal," the man smirks and finally gets serious.

Tom slowly regains his composure and removes his mask to address his new foe. "Who are you and why are you working with Team Rocket?" Tom's voice booms and echoes as he demands an answer.

"Listen guy it's nothing personally, but Team Rocket's paying a lot of money for our services." He says with a cocky attitude. "Slaking give them a nice Hyper Beam to think about." As Slaking unleashes its attack Tom's Flygon swoops down and takes the hit. To everyone's amazement Flygon takes the hit with little damage. It hurt, but not nearly as much as they were expecting. He whistles, "Impressive, can it do that again?"

"Take this seriously, we're currently on the losing side Ryoko." His partner looks around and seems to be calculating their chance of victory. "Alakazam take care of that other Alakazam with a Shadow Ball." The opposing Pokemon charges towards Sabrina's who is currently locked in battle with about five other Pokemon. Hitting it from behind Sabrina's Pokemon goes down at least. "Shadow Pokemon are by all accounts stronger than any normal Pokemon by at least three fold." She gives them hard numbers hoping to discourage them.

"We get it Haruka," Ryoko rolls his eyes. He continues his barrage. "Earthquake won't do much against that dragon, but this might. Giga Impact!" Slaking stands and charge after Flygon. Flygon flies high and prepares an attack of its own.

"Earth Power!" Tom orders as Flygon roars and the Earth shakes around them. Rocks and debris all begin rising and pelting Slaking with great force. "I'll have you know I'm Kanto's Champion." Tom declares smugly.

"Well, I'm Cipher's top snagger. So that makes me the best trainer in the Orre region." Ryoko is equally as cocky.

"Well at least someone is worth his salt." Tom snaps his fingers and Flygon hovers beside him. "Leave the rest of them alone and I'll leave the grunts alone."

"What are you getting at? I couldn't care less about those pissants anyway." Ryoko wasn't on Team Rocket's side, but they did cut the check so he's at least obligated to win.

"I'm your opponent." He says with a determined gleam in his eyes.

Ryoko smirks, "Fine, I wanted someone who could challenge me anyway. Although, this Slaking isn't my Pokemon of choice."

"Fine, let's see your best." Tom stands ready.

"Ryoko no!" Haruka shouts in fear of what he's about to unleash.

"Go Metagross!" Instantly a shiny Metagross comes flying out of the Pokemon and whirls through the air like a disc as Flygon. It extends out an arm and plows into Flygon with a Meteor Mash.

Tom stood in disbelief as Flygon is finally takedown after sustaining so much damage. "Well, that was thing." He calls back his Flygon and calls out another Pokemon from his arsenal. "Arcanine, I need you to take care of that Metagross." Arcanine is immediately faced with resistance from the foe's Metagross. It's like the Pokemon has a battle strategy of its own and wasn't acting on Ryoko's intentions. "Are you even controlling it at this point?"

Ryoko shakes his head, "Metagross has the mind with greater computing power than a supercomputer. It analyzes its opponents in a fraction of a second and calculates a strategy to counter and defeat its opponent. Really frees up my attention in battles." He gloats and watches the carnage.

Tom begins to sweat as Arcanine continually takes the defensive position. With each attack his Pokemon is backed further into a counter it feels like. Tom decides to wait for the perfect opening. He sees it and acts. "Fire Blast!" Arcanine shoots a burst of flames. Metagross in a split second reads the oncoming attack and dodges accordingly. Tom's blood runs cold when he sees what's in the path of the attack. Haruka. Even if she's the enemy he would never want to kills someone. He can only stand and watch helplessly.

Suddenly he hears a voice that snaps him back to reality. "Haruka!" Ryoko shouts and runs towards her. He dives and tackles her out of the way of the attack. She looks stunned as they tumble to the ground. "Haruka, thank god you're okay!" He wraps his arms around her and fights back a few tears.

She just stares on in shock, "Ryoko, thank you." She whispers and embraces him as well.

Tom looks surprised, but what he was sensing is undeniable. Love, true love. Even Metagross stops to examine the situation. He walks up to them both and holds out a hand. "Get out of here." He says with a soft smile.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He swats away Tom's hand.

"You're more worry about her than the battle." Tom again offers a hand. He looks towards Haruka. "Love makes us do crazy things doesn't it?" He chuckles.

Haruka smiles slightly, "Yeah, I guess it does." She nods to Ryoko who takes Tom's hand. "We should go… dear." She address her boyfriend. Ryoko calls back Metagross which prompts the grunt leader to start shouting.

"What are you doing? Fight, that's what we're paying you for!" He is livid which makes Tom laugh.

"We might not be getting paid, but something tells me your checks not going to clear after today anyway." Ryoko and Haruka both teleport away leaving the leader speechless.

"So do you want to go quietly or do I have to knock around a bit first?" Tom asks with a devious smirk on his face.

He spits, "Fine, you win this battle."

Tom walks up and punches him in gut. "Sorry, but I _really_ needed that." As the man rolls on the ground in agony Tom takes the time to correct him. "Also, we won the battle and the war." Tom triumphantly declares Kanto the victors of this small war. A victory he hopes doesn't go unnoticed by history.

Slowly but surely the numbers dwindle around them and Team Rockets morale tanks until the remaining few finally decide to submit. They won and authorities are arriving to round up the Rocket agents.

Sabrina walks up to Tom looking as exhausted as him. "We did," she smiles and takes his hand tenderly.

Tom nods looking onward at the gym which shakes as it crumbles from the inside. He can't see anything, but he knows there's an intense battle going on inside. "Yeah, now it's all up to Tia."

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review of your thoughts on this chapter and series as a whole. So this was a chapter i was long awaiting. A massive battle with a lot of exciting and action filled moments. The battle on Cinnabar was intense, but this had so much to it in my opinion. The declaration of war, everyone getting to show off how awesome they are, and two very important characters for the future. You didn't really think Ryoko and Haruka were just throw away characters did you?<p> 


	26. Chapter 26: The Final Assault

Chapter 26: The Final Assault

Tia runs into the gym with a fiery determination in her eyes. "Giovanni, I'm here to beat you, get my badge, and stop Team Rocket once and for all." She declares proudly.

Giovanni steps forward out of the shadows with six Pokémon by his side laughing triumphantly. He is giving off a truly menacing aura. One of power and intimidation. "Poor girl, you're delusional I've already won. I have an army of loyal followers. Kanto is wrapped around my finger and I single handedly convinced half of the mighty Indigo league to join my cause. Sabrina, Koga, Surge, and Blaine were all just pawns. Though, you and Tom have both been a huge stitch in my craw, but that ends today! Starting with you. You obnoxiously, stubborn, little bitch!" His growls with a furious expression on his face. "You're up first Tauros." He says with a calm intensity and smug smile.

Tia draws out her Pokeball and starts with her Ninetales. "We need to start off strong here. Use a Will-O-Wisp." Ninetales in a flash unleashes tongues of fire from its tale and blast Tauros. "That burn will weaken him." Tia is confident that she is at least impeding his Pokemon.

He simply smirks, "You think a simple burn will hurt my Tauros? Use Thrash and be quick about it." Tauros charges wildly at Ninetales plowing into Tia's Pokemon in a blur of movement. Tia Pokémon jumps back trying to regain footing.

"Use a Flamethrower!" Tia orders. Unfortunately, while Ninetales attacks Tauros runs up and continues thrashing like mad. The Flamethrower is deflected, but still deals a massive amount of damage. The thrashing finally calms down. "Good thing your Pokémon still gets worn out after all that. Now's our chance use a Fire Blast!" A huge burst of fire engulfs Tauros and finally finish off the mad bull of a Pokémon.

Giovanni curses and calls it back, "One Pokémon isn't something to get too excited about girly. Go Kangaskhan!" He calls out his next giant Pokémon. Kangaskhan stomps the ground making it shake and tremble. "Use Sucker Punch!" He instructs before Tia could command her Ninetales, Kangaskhan was looming overhead and sends a mighty punch right at Ninetales.

"Cheap shot aside Giovanni I'm not going to lose, use another Flamethrower!" Ninetales blasts more powerful flames right into Kangaskhan who just takes it confidently. "No way!"

Giovanni laughs, "My Pokemon are fighting machines; you're going to have to try harder than that! Now, Outrage." Kangaskhan starts thrashing around wildly like Tauros did and pummels Tia's Ninetales who's barely standing at this point.

"Last resort time Ninetales. I need a Flare Blitz!" She commands which Ninetales hastily complies. The two Pokemon clash in an epic head to head confrontation. Kangaskhan's mighty fists nail Ninetales, but not before Tia's fire fox Pokémon drives its head into its stomach. Silences follows when both Pokemon hit the ground with a crash. Tia calls back Ninetales. "You fought great. Now, it's your turn Alakazam!" Tia orders.

Giovanni growls, "Well this is two more Pokémon than you were supposed to be able to take out. Now we get serious, Garchomp!"

"Alakazam I need you to focus now." Tia says calmly prompting her psychic type to close its eyes and begin glowing in a trance.

"While you're meditating hit it with a Rock Slide!" Garchomp roars and sends a barrage of rocks at Alakazam.

"I don't think so," she giggles, "Psychic!" She orders. Alakazam's eyes shoot open and sends a blast of psychic energy at Garchomp hitting it directly.

"Dammit, use Earthquake now!" He screams lividly. The entire gym shakes knocking Alakazam off balance and dealing a huge amount of damage. Giovanni lets out a grizzly laugh; content with taking down the entire gym with him in it if it spelled Tia's end.

The Garchomp looms over Alakazam fangs showing ready to strike when it's down. Tia smiles, "Remember how I had Alakazam focus its energy? It was all for this: Future Sight!" Tia triumphantly smiles at her opponent. Another powerful blast of psychic energy emerges, this time hitting Garchomp square in the face. "Now, one last Psychic to get the job done." Tia says nonchalantly. Alakazam does just that and knocks out Garchomp with easy.

Giovanni screams and curses, "How is it I'm being beaten by this little bitch?" He looks to his Nidoking and points to the arena. "Use an Earthquake and destroy that Alakazam, extra points if you take that damn pest with it!" He points at Tia. Giovanni's composure is slipping as he is slowly becoming unhinged.

Nidoking smiles maliciously and sends another Earthquake creating so much force that the entire gym shakes and begins to collapse. Rubble and debris starts to fall all over. Alakazam was hardly standing.

"Alakazam get back, I'll send out Aerodactyl next." Alakazam steps down and let's Tia send out her next Pokémon. Aerodactyl takes to the sky and knows these Earthquakes will do nothing to it. "Let's take care of this fast, Giga Impact!" Aerodactyl swoops down and plows into Nidoking and sends it flying.

"Impressive, but you're wide open: Smack Down!" A full frontal Smack Down hits Aerodactyl when it's recharging and sends it sinking like a rock. "Now Earthquake!" The gym continues to violently shake and rip apart. This attack hurts Aerodactyl badly. "Aerodactyl I need you to use an Ice Fang!" It struggles to get up, but in an amazing burst of willpower hurls itself at Nidoking and bites its arm.

Nidoking flinches and uses one last Smack Down finally knocking out Aerodactyl. "Very good Nidoking." He says smugly.

Tia calls back Aerodactyl, "You did perfectly, now it's Gyarados's time to shine." Giovanni looks up in terror. Tia smirks, "That's right, Hydro Pump." She points at Nidoking who was a sitting duck as Gyarados sends a torrent of water at it washing it away in a second.

"Damn you girl! Go Nidoqueen. I should have used you before I used my Nidoking, but whatever. Use Thunderbolt!" It charge up a mighty bolt of electricity and it Gyarados hard.

"My Gyarados is made of sturdier stuff than that." Tia boasts, "Though I'm sure another Hydro Pump will leave that Nidoqueen all washed up." Gyarados attacks and floods the arena with a rage of water washing Nidoqueen away. To no real surprise Nidoqueen still stands and is ready to counter strike.

"It's useless my Nidoqueen's very defensive." Giovanni smiles evilly.

"Oh I know, Aqua Tail." Tia says casually. In all the confusion Aqua swam through the water and posed itself right over Nidoqueen and whips it with its tail. Nidoqueen flies into the water completely out of it now.

Giovanni watch his second to last Pokémon go down when suddenly everything snaps. "Rhyperior, Thunderbolt and then kill the girl!" He laughs sadistically. His Rhyperior blasts Gyarados with ease and slowly walks up to Tia.

"Gyarados return; Venasaur I need you." She says backing up. "Grass Knot," Venasaur charges after Rhyperior who continues to stomp ever closer to Tia. The attack hits distracting Rhyperior. It Hammer Arms Venasaur in one swift, violent motion. Venasaur continues to try and distract the menacing Pokemon, but it has one clear mission in mind: eliminate Tia.

"It's pointless you can't win." Giovanni says grabbing Tia from behind. In all the worry about getting away from Rhyperior it gave Giovanni the perfect chance to get behind her and grab her. "Finish off this damn Venasaur then we'll finish off the girl. A full power Earthquake!" The gym crumble away, the ceiling is all but collapsed, the walls crumbled, and the arena was rubble. Viridian City's gym is totally destroyed. Giovanni is blind to all this thanks to his unrelenting hatred towards this girl whose life he now held in his hands.

Venasaur stands triumphantly in the rumble of the ruined gym. "Yes, now we finish this. Venasaur I know you can do it. Frenzy Plant!" An army of bramble emerge around Rhyperior and proceed to grab and whip it viciously. One the attack end Rhyperior stands motionless and slowly caves to its knees and finally faints. "Looks like I won Gio." Tia says confidently.

He tightens his grasp and wraps an arm around her neck. "I'm going to do what Surge was too stupid to not finish. I'll choke the life out of you once and for all." He says in a psychotic fit laughing hysterically.

"No…you…won't," Tia struggles and points up above their heads. A large boulder was suspended in the air being held by Alakazam. "Either…you let me go…or we both die here." She chokes. Giovanni couldn't believe she thought this far ahead and had a plan for it. Checkmate: he lets her go. She turns to him rubbing her neck. "Giovanni you've done horrible things, made people do horrible things to other, and betrayed all of Kanto. Now you and your team are done!" Tia declares and rips the final gym badge off of his shirt. She smiles and looks at him as he just snarls with bloodlust in his eyes. "One more thing," Tia punches him square in the solar plexus and knocks him out cold. She rubs her fist, "I am not a bitch!" She stomps the ground and call back her Pokémon after Alakazam safely lowers the rock. She steps out of the gym and walks through the city looking for Tom and Sabrina; all the while dragging Giovanni. She notices all the chaos as Rocket grunts are rounded up and trying to escape. She sees all the gym leaders who showed up in the final fight. She is happy to see all the friends she's made come to back her up and defend their region. She slowly walks up to Tom who stands looking triumphant as ever. All while Sabrina stood by his side.

"I think that went well." Tom says pleasantly. "Looks like we won this little war." He is way too pleased to claim he both declared and ended a war.

"I had no idea my boyfriend was such a warmonger. Just don't make a habit of this." Sabina smirks shares a laugh with Tom.

"Guys," Tia says weakly.

The couple notice Tia. "Tia, are you alright?" Tom asks not noticing Giovanni.

She nods and drags him forward and dropping him in front of them. She shows off her gym badge. "I beat him: Team Rocket is no more!" She shouts loud enough for everyone to hear.

Immediately cheers break out from the crowd. Each gym leader looks on with pride at the girl who was once nothing more than a novice. Now Tia can claim to be one of the greats who beat the Indigo league, but moreover someone who defeated Team Rocket and toppled their organization. She smiles, looks down, and collapses.

Tom catches her before she face plants. He smiles gently, "You did it, now we all can rest easy thanks to you." Tom carries her in his arms. "Come on Sabrina, let's take her home. I'll have Officer Jenny get Giovanni." He says calmly with a warm smile looking up at the sun.

Sabrina smiles at both of them. "She did well. She's a great trainer. I can see her only getting better from here on out." Sabrina says proudly watching Tia sleep. "Once we drop her off though, we have a very important matter to discuss." Sabrina says biting her lip.

Tom nods his head, "I know, for now we can enjoy the peace." The three of them leave while every able body in the city rounds up Rocket agents and they see Giovanni being escorted off in cuffs. It's finally over. Team Rocket's conquest for power has finally come to end.

Elsewhere, a lab in the middle of the desert is full of activity. Two people in particular are hard at work looking over plans, reports, and statistics. "Well that was a bust." Ryoko reclines back in his chair looking at a couple monitors. "I could have beat that punk too." He grits his teeth at the thought of conceding to Tom.

"The likelihood we would have won was already less than forty percent." Haruka runs the numbers on screen.

"Babe, you've been spending too much time with Ein. You're starting to talk like him." Ryoko comments about her annoying mannerisms and distancing tone.

She sighs, "Sorry Ryoko, but I've been running numbers day and night." Her voice is much more gentle and serene. She rubs her temples in frustration. Ryoko quietly walks up behind her and rubs her shoulders. She purrs and smiles, "Oh right there," she blushes and focuses back on her work. "Well, I guess we can toss these." She picks up a classified dossier.

The two are interrupted by a call on screen. A few shadowy figures appear on screen. "We heard about the failure in Kanto. We do not blame you." One of the men steps forward exposing a red R on his black uniform. "The Three Beasts failed and our master has been captured. We still want your assistance and we'll pay Cipher handsomely." He smiles with a devious grin.

Ryoko stares down the man, "Oh trust me, if you didn't have the stones to do this we would have." He laughs flaunts the dossier. "The key to ruling this world." The individuals on screen seem pleased by Ryoko's determination.

"Don't fail next time," they hang up leaving Ryoko and Haruka to themselves once more.

"Looks like they only got one head of the Hydreigon. I guess this is phase two." He laughs and pulls out a map of Johto.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you all enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and on the series as a whole. Well, this is the end of the Kanto Arc. As if it was any real surprise the story wasn't ending there. I also hope people like Ryoko and Haruka, because we'll be seeing a lot more of them in the future.<p> 


	27. Chapter 27: Aftermath

Chapter 27: Aftermath

The room is large and imposing. A large, ornate table sits at the center with eight chairs. Most are empty sans three of them. Around the room is a large display of Pokemon statues and at the head a high rise with another table with five chairs. The most elaborate chair being again the back wall.

Brock, Misty, and Erika sit in their respective chairs and breathe an exhausted sigh. "This is all that's left of the Kanto League?" Brock says shamefully, feeling horrible that he has to admit it.

"This is bad, we need to fill the empty spots, but five gym leaders?" Erika lets out another exhausted sigh.

"I can think of maybe one or two." Misty says trying to be optimistic.

The doors to the conference room open and a voice immediately starts giving out orders with zeal and excitement. "Okay, everyone we have a situation and I have a solution."

"Tom?" All three question in unison.

"Erika, Brock, and Mist." He smiles with his signature toothy grin and leans against the table.

"What are you doing here?" Misty shoots him a dirty look and turns up her nose. She's still a little irate he just left his post without a word all that time back.

"As Kanto League champion I have the right to sit in on every meeting I choose, now I present our solution." He claps and the door opens again. Sabrina walks in proudly and takes her seat. "In light of recent circumstances Sabrina as fully confessed to her role in Rocket's agenda and will be paying for the repairs to the Silph Co. building so she can continue being the Saffron City gym leader."

She bows, "I hope everyone can forgive me; I will make good on my word. I thank you for a second chance." She says before sitting back down.

"Way to play favorites Tom." Misty shoots him an accusatory glance.

"Now hey there's more," The door opens again with Blaine standing in the entry. "Blaine here has been exonerated due to the fact that Rocket scientists were secretly manipulating his research and using him. He will be Cinnabar's gym leader without consequence and he agreed to keep an eye on Mewtwo to make sure it recovers to its normal state."

The door opens again with Lt. Surge walking in ashamed. "No need to say anything Tom." He says sadly, "I lost control, I swear if I help rebuild the S.S. Anne I will never break another law in my life." He begs and takes his seat holding his head in shame.

"Now that's settled we're going to have to fill Koga's spot and Giovanni's. Seeing as Koga has confessed to everything and Gio's going away for a long time." Tom chuckles.

"Any ideas who will replace them?" Brock speaks up.

"Glad you asked, I can see one's already here." He looks up.

A shadowy figure descends from the ceiling. "Very observant, I am here on your request. I am Janine; Koga's daughter and ninja master." She bows and takes her father's chair.

"Welcome to the league Janine, I'm glad I was able to contact you on such short notice. Now, the moment you've all been waiting for." He hypes it up.

"We don't have all day dear." Sabrina breaks his flow.

He slumps his shoulders and sigh, "Come on in," he waves a hand and lets the door open. A young man with spiked, brown hair walks in with a confident and determined demeanor about him. "I'm sure you're all familiar with Gary Oak." Tom presents.

He shakes Tom's hand. "Thank you for choosing me Tom, it really means a lot. Also, I'm sorry for how I acted back when you beat me." He says maturely. It shows that Gary has really grown up from that impulsive kid he used to be.

"I'm glad to have you on board Gary." He lets him take his seat. "Now one order of business left. Greet your Elite Four!" Tom walks to the high rise as everyone stands. The four walk in; a man with purple hair and a mask is the first to enter. Next, is a man with spiked hair, buff muscles, and no shirt to hide them. Then, a young woman with long flowing, blue hair. Finally, a man with a majestic cloak and spiked, red hair at the head of the pack.

"Will, Bruno, Karen, and Lance." Tom shakes all their hands. "It's a pleasure." Everyone takes their seats. "Now one last issue we need to have a brief conference with the Johto League and let them know that we've finally resolved this situation." He turns on the display and connects to their video stream.

A pink haired girl is staring right into the camera smiling hogging the entire camera. "Hi Tommy!" She shouts excitedly with a cheesy smile.

Tom groans, "Whitney get out of the shot we need to see everyone." He's already lost all patients. He rubs his head as she steps back and takes her seat.

The entire Johto league is present for this conference. "Hello everyone," Jasmin speaks for the group. "It looks like you've decided on new members." She acknowledges.

"You are correct, Janine and Gary Oak are the two newest members of the Kanto League." He says sounding more official.

"Hooray," Whitney cheers, "Tommy when are you coming back to Goldenrod? I want to battle you and we play games, and-" Tom interrupts her childish behavior.

"Shut up Whit!" He says further annoyed. He and Whitney never quite got along. She's childish, impulsive and loud. He's calm, cool, and collected. This never stopped her from always hanging around him though.

"Hey that's mean. Sabrina punish him for me! Withhold sex or something." She says literally making everyone's eyes widen and slowly turn to Tom.

He turns beet red and clears his throat. "The Pokémon League does not acknowledge or condone any relationships romantic, sexual, or otherwise among its representative. The Pokémon League establishes and adheres to a strict code of conduct to set the best possible example for aspiring trainers and other league officials." Tom rehearses the bylaws hoping this changes the subject.

"So…I think this meeting's over." Lance speaks up for Tom who is still too embarrassed to think of anything else. "Tom any final thoughts?"

He mumbles, "The Pokemon League is a proud institution with a rich history. As official representatives we strive for a clean reputation." He continues lost in his little world.

"Okay…well thank you all for attending." Lance looks at Tom's notes. "There will be cookies and punch in the lobby?" He scratches his head.

The Johto League signs off. "I hate that girl!" Tom finally shouts.

Sabrina walks up and rubs his back. "It's okay dear, if it makes you feel any better I think they bought it." She says caringly.

"Really?" He says optimistically.

"No, I was just hoping you'd believe me; everyone knows. It was never a big secret." She pats him on the shoulder. The two walk off holding hands. "Cookies and punch?" She asks like that's the weirdest thing she's ever head.

"What? I thought it was a good idea; their shaped like Snorlax." He giggles innocently.

"It's official. My boyfriend's a dork." She laughs and joins the others.

A few days pass and life goes back to normal in the Kanto region while one particular hero lies peacefully in her bed.

Tia wakes up bright and early in the morning. She wastes no time getting dressed and heading outside. She calls out all her Pokémon and lets them roam freely. She decides to give Professor Oak a visit to see if there is anything she could help him with.

She steps in the lab and spots Oak with another person already. "So you're Viridian's new Gym leader, that's wonderful!" He says happily.

Tia wants to greet the new gym leader, but is frozen stiff when she hears his voice. "Yeah, but we have to wait until the gym gets rebuilt. Giovanni destroyed the old gym." Gary says not noticing Tia.

Oak looks over his grandson's shoulder. "Oh Tia, I'm glad you're here." He says happily.

Gary nearly jumps out of his skin. He turns around nervously. "T…Tia?" Gary shakes and fears the worst after he scorned her.

"Hi…Gary," both seem very nervous. Oak decides to let the two catch up and steps out of the lab. "So you're the new gym leader?" She tries to spark up conversation.

"Yeah, Tom came to me and offered since I was the previous league champion." He rubs his arm nervously. "So I heard you beat the league. That's pretty cool. I was surprised you were taking on the league." He chuckles quietly and nervously as to not make her angry.

"Yeah, I decided to become a trainer after you left; I wanted to find you or become as strong as you were. That and my dad wouldn't quit bugging me about it." She says feeling more relaxed.

Gary swallows a lump in his throat. "Tia, I'm really sorry I left you like that. I mean it was very immature of me." Even after all these years Gary still feels like a real heel for what he did to her.

Tia shakes her head, "I'm not mad Gary. You and I could both see it wasn't meant to last. We had a good run and I was happy, but I don't think it would have lasted much longer if you had stayed. You know what I mean?" She says feeling confident in her stance.

Gary looks amazed. "That's really mature of you Tia. You've really grown since we last saw each other." He smiles.

"So have you…" She smiles back. The two step closer letting the unresolved feelings build between them. They stare face to face and with a completely mutual action they give each other one final kiss.

They break away at the same time. "Goodbye Tia, this is what I should have done all that time ago." He says. The two smile and Gary begins to leave. As the doors open he turns back. He waves cockily as ever, "Smell ya later." He winks back at her.

Tia playfully sticks her tongue and watches him walk away. She smiles gently and says to herself: "Goodbye Gary, I know it wasn't long, but I did love you." She puts her hands on her chest and smiles.

Gary walks out, "No matter how much I loved you, I could never say it. You deserve better." He walks away head held high like a great weight was lifted.

He hears a soft chuckle behind him. Tom stands there leaning against the wall. "Nice to see you two made up." He smirks.

"Yeah, and thank you for helping her. I feel bad for just leaving the way I did." Gary says and walks off.

"I have no room to judge; at least Tia didn't go crazy." The two share a subtle laugh and he lets Gary go. He walks in to Oak's lab. Tia's sitting at one of Oak's desk reading through some documents.

She looks up, "Tom!" She hops up and runs over to him.

"Hey how's everyone's favorite Pokémon League victor?" He smiles and calls out Cleffa. Cleffa waves joyously. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

She smiles at them both. "I'm doing well, I've been spending a lot of time helping Professor Oak right now. He's teaching me a lot." She shows him some documents she's been looking through.

"That's great, so what's next for you?" He wonders if she's going to challenge Johto. "You know there are a lot more regions out there." He nudges to goad her along.

"I know, I'm taking a little break. Once I'm done I'm taking on the Johto League!" She boldly declares with the same determination she faced Kanto with.

"That a girl," Tom pats her on the back. "I'll be rooting for ya." He smiles.

"By the way Tom," She says quietly getting his attentions.

"What's up?" He says not knowing her next move.

She quickly gives him a big hug and kisses him on the cheek. "Thanks for everything. I know I couldn't have done any of this without you." She breaks away with a gentle smile that Tom has to admit is cute as can be.

"I'm flattered, but you're a great trainer don't sell yourself short." He sits down and looks over the documents. "Hey I remember this; the migratory patterns of Wingulls." He looks through hit fondly with nostalgia. This was one of the first case reports he ever did. He was ecstatic when he sent it to Prof. Oak and he actually liked it. Tom's thoughts are interrupted by a sturdy knock on the door. "Oh I forgot you have another visitor." He says with a toothy grin.

Tia runs to the door and let the guest in. The guest in question is about the last person she ever wanted to see: Lt. Surge.

She jumps back defensively realizing she doesn't have any Pokeball on her, but she could call on her Pokémon at any second if she has to. "What are you doing here Surge?" She snarls rudely. Rightfully so.

He sighs, "I deserve that." In a rather abrupt act he drops to his knees and sinks his head to the ground. "Please forgive me!" He beg.

Tia winces, "Wait what?" She's completely lost and confused.

"I'm so sorry for everything I did to you and everyone! I'm not a bad man just misguided!" He cries. Tia couldn't believe Lt. Surge was crying and begging for her forgiveness. "I am personally paying for the repairs to the S.S. Anne, but I'm here to offer you my position in the league as a way to make amends." He whines and sniffs trying to get the words out.

Tom's ears perk up; he had no idea that Surge would go that far.

Tia smiles gently and pats Surge on his sturdy, broad shoulder. "I could never take your place in the league and as far as forgiving you. Don't worry. You came to find me just to beg like that. How can I be mad?" She is at least flattered by his expressive apology.

He gets up and rubs his eyes. "Thank you Tia!" He takes her hands and shakes them roughly in joy. "I swear I'll never misuse a Pokémon again!" He bows one last time and takes his leave. Tia just stands there trying to process everything that just happened.

Tom laughs, "That guy's just a big teddy bear isn't he?" He gets up and walks up to Tia. "I'm surprised you turned down his offer? Do you not want to be a gym leader?" He asks, but deep down he already knows her answer.

She shakes her head, "No, not really I want to see the world. I'm sure that's why you decided not to become one." She says knowing he's had to have been offered at some point.

Tom smirks, "There's one thing we have in common. I was offered a chance to be Rustboro's gym leader over in Hoenn, but I decided against it. This was years ago too. Roxanne does a fine job herself so it all worked out." He heads for the door. "Well, I have to get going, it was nice seeing you again Tia." He waves goodbye for the last time.

"Wait Tom, what are you going to do now?" She asks timidly.

He smiles, "I'm living in Saffron City now; with Sabrina." He feels relieved that finally he can settle down with her and live their life together. Not to say he's going to quit travelling.

"Oh, tell Sabrina I said hi." She hides a deeper sadness. She walks outside where she watches Tom fly off on his Flygon.

As much as they might have fought or disagreed she can't deny that Tom is one of the best friends she's ever had. "I'll miss you…" she says meekly and walks back into Oak's lab.

Tom looks down on Pallet Town as he flies away. "I'll miss you too Tia." Her emotions touched him deeply. He sighs and flies back to Saffron where his love waits patiently.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review on your thoughts of this chapter and the series as a whole. So Kanto is finally done. This is of course far from the end of the story and Johto is where I feel the quality of not only my writing, but storytelling too improve greatly. So I hope you all look forward to that next week.<p> 


	28. Chapter 28: A Fresh Start

"Johto Quest"

Chapter 24: A Fresh Start

The light on Kanto is still dim, but that doesn't stop one particular young trainer from being up bright and early. Tia's up and ready to start a new journey. Her mother happily gave her new clothes to replace her now very worn travel gear. She looks over herself in the mirror. Her new clothes were a nicely fitting, red shirt with a short sleeve, white over shirt. Finally, a pair of jean shorts to tie it all together. She finishes off her preparation with a pair of red on white gym shoes. She stopped a second to strike a pose like she's about to throw a Pokeball and giggles. She quickly gets distracted by her bag her mother prepared the night before. She also bought herself an X-transceiver with the money she'd won on her journey. Just like that she's ready for her journey to Johto.

A couple weeks have passed since beating Giovanni and now she's as confident as ever to start a new journey. She slings her new messenger bag over her shoulder and crosses it over her chest so it hung around her waist on the left side of her body. Stylist and functional, just the way she likes it.

She runs down her steps and heads for the door. "Excuse me young lady." Her mother speaks up.

"Oh mom, I didn't know you were up." Tia says surprised.

"Do you really think I'd miss saying goodbye to my own daughter?" She walks up and give her a warm hug. "I'm proud of you dear. You're just like your father." She whispers and lets a single tear escape her eye. Her little girl is growing up before her eyes.

Tia smiles, "Thank you mom. I need to get going now. Love you!" She quickly runs out the door. Once outside she makes a full on sprint to Oak's lab.

She runs inside where a single aide is waiting for her. "Oh Tia, bright and early I see. The professor wanted me to have you teleported to Johto." He points to an Abra. "This Abra belongs to Professor Elm. The top researcher is Johto. This Abra will take you to New Bark Town. You don't have any Pokémon currently on you do you?"

Tia shakes her head. "Prof. Oak told me that I should start fresh that way I can get the most out of my time in Johto. So let's do this!" She jumps excitedly.

All of Tia's Pokémon come out from the back and give her a final goodbye. "Ah, when did they get here?" The aide panics.

Tia laughs, "I'll see you guys around. Be good until I get back okay?" She smiles and walks up to Abra.

The Abra uses teleport. A split second later Tia sees that she's in a lab, not much different from Oak's. She looks around and sees that the layout was different, but this wasn't exactly the welcoming she was expecting.

"Hello?" Tia's voice echoing through the empty lab. She spots a single computer screen giving off a faint glow. She walks over and spots a man in a lab coat sleep in his chair. "Really?" She groans. "Wake up!" She shouts making the man literally jump out of his seat.

He exclaims, "Please, take my money just leave the Pokémon!" He falls to the ground and begs not realizing he's addressing a teenage girl. He opens his eyes and looks up at Tia. "Oh you're that trainer aren't you?" His entire demeanor flips on a dime. He regains his composure and gets up like nothing happened. "I was expecting you." He says professionally.

"Right…" Tia finds that hard to believe. "Then why were you sleeping?" She begs the obvious question.

He scratches his head "You're a lot earlier than I thought you'd be." He points to the clock. "It's five in the morning. What sensible person is awake at this early?"

Tia panics and checks her X-transceiver. "I gained an hour; I thought I lost an hour?" She rubs the back of her head. "Sorry I guess I had the wrong time zone." She says playfully.

"Quite alright, time's a confusing thing sometimes. Well at least you get a head start now. Anyways, as you might know by now I am Professor Elm; I am one of the leading researcher of Pokémon in Johto which means I am the one that all starting trainers come to see. So I'm sure you want to see the starter Pokémon." Prof. Elm walks her over to a table with the standard fare of three Pokeballs. He calls them all out.

The three Pokémon emerge: a little mouse like Pokémon with a large fire on its back lies on the table peacefully. Another small creature with a leaf on its head struts around happy. Finally, a blue crocodile Pokémon hops up and down on the table excitedly.

"Wow, they're all so cute!" She can hardly contain herself. "Now who to choose?" She checks them all out. Chikorita stares at her with doe eyes tugging at Tia's heart strings. "You're cute, but I used a Grass type last time." She looks over at Totodile and thinks he looks way too high maintenance. "I like this one." She picks up Cyndaquil and pets his head. The Cyndaquil nuzzles against her cheek with a playful cry. She holds him the way Tom would hold his Cleffa and takes the Pokeball.

"Cyndaquil, a wonderful choice." He takes note of this. "Well, as you know this marks the beginning of your journey in Johto. So I shall be the first one to welcome you to our lovely region. West of here is the first major town Cherrygrove City, from there you can head to Mr. Pokémon's lab and Violet City where the first league gym is." He mentions and gives her a map of the region.

"Great, let's get started then Cyndaquil!" She cheers and heads for the door.

"Wait!" Elm shouts making Tia stop on a dime. "I know this is a lot to ask, but I need someone to see Mr. Pokémon and pick up a very important research object. Could you be kind enough to get it for me?" He asks nervously.

Tia shrugs, "Sure, it's on the way." They quickly exchange numbers on their X-transceivers before Tia goes. She takes her first step out into the brisk morning, Johto air. She takes a deep breath. Setting Cyndaquil down she pet him as he yawns and rubs up against her leg. "Well, Cyndaquil looks like you and I are going to be companions from now on. One rule: we always do our best!" She cheers making Cyndaquil smile and jump happily.

Elm runs out one last time. He huffs, "I am so sorry I almost forgot to give you your Pokedex." He hands her an upgraded version of the Pokedex which seem to have a few more features than her Kanto Pokedex.

"Thanks professor, we'll be going now." She waves goodbye with Cyndaquil. They head out of the city into the route where Tia spots a lot of tall grass, but not a lot of Pokémon aside from the occasional flocks of Hoothoot. "Wow it is early even the Pokémon are still asleep." She giggle. "Well, there's a lot of Hoothoot here so we can fight them for some easy practice." She points at a single Hoothoot. "Okay Cyndaquil I need you to use a Tackle attack."

Cyndaquil braces himself and charges at an unsuspecting Hoothoot. The attack connects and sends the Hoothoot flying in shock. Its eyes narrow as it flaps its wings menacing. It attacks as well swooping down on Cyndaquil. Tia's Pokémon tries to block, but Hoothoot was too fast for Cyndaquil.

"Hang in there Cyndaquil that's nothing." She smiles. "I want you to circle around and see if you can catch it by surprise." She says calmly. Cyndaquil runs as fast as it can around Hoothoot who is flying around trying to tackle into Cyndaquil. Finally, he gets the opening he needs and runs head first into it knocking to the Hoothoot to the ground. She runs up and picks up her Cyndaquil. "That was great! Want to try battling some more on the way?" She suggests getting a happy nod out of Cyndaquil.

The two continue down the road for another hour occasionally running into a Hoothoot all the while the sun was slowly emerging from overhead. Along the way Tia stumbles upon a tree which held bright berries on it. "Hey look at this. We don't have berry trees in Kanto." She puts one in her palm. "Here Cyndaquil this should make you feel better after all that hard work you did fighting." She knees down and hold out her hand. Cyndaquil sniffs the berry and happy digs in. She laughs as Cyndaquil's nose rubs against her hand as he ate. Once he was done Tia stands up and grabs a few more berries for the road. The two get their first glimpse of sunlight and slowly, one by one Sentret filled the fields in front of them.

"Hey Cyndaquil want to try fighting one of them?" She points out. Cyndaquil nods and leaps into the tall grass. Tia finds one that looks ready to battle. She points to one, "Go!" She orders. With a single strike Sentret is sent flying. "Umm…good work?" She doesn't know how to respond after seeing such a weak Pokémon get so easily knocked away. "Oh well, battle experience is still experience nonetheless." She shrugs and moves on. Cyndaquil easily levels a few more Sentret until Tia decides that picking on such weak Pokémon wasn't worth the time, plus she felt kind of bad doing it. Like a big kid picking on little kids just because he's stronger.

The two keep up the trail until another hour or so passes until they find their way to Cherrygrove City. Tia's adventure with Cyndaquil has only just begun, but she can already tell it will be a grand one nonetheless. She expects nothing less than the best from the gym leaders of Johto and give nothing less than her best. She'll prove to herself and everyone that she can someday be one of the greatest trainers around.

This whole experience reminds her of her first time leaving Pallet to start her journey. She never would have imagined it would lead her this fair. She always felt like she'd explore Kanto, get a little experience, and be happy with that. No, she wants more. Tia is now determined to be more than the average trainer. It's in her blood after all. Her father the Frontier Brain. Even her mother was a great Coordinator back in the day before she settled down in Pallet Town. Above all else Tia has Tom to thank for her resolve as well. One of the greats himself.

Thinking about him does give her a slight twinge of loneliness, but she doesn't need him anymore. She can do great on her own. This just the first step of her grand adventure in Johto. Now that she's so far from home this is the first time she really feels like this is a whole new world she lives in.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and hope you enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. So it begins. A new arc in Tia's journey through the exciting world of Pokemon. A long time ago I decided against dividing Tia's Tales up into separate stories, because i wanted all of her adventures in one place. While the other future side stories in Pokemon Sagas will have their own separate stories. This is to keep it clean and to emphasize that Tia is not the singular focus of the Pokemon Sagas series. Which is pretty obvious with Tom getting such heavy focus in the previous arc. I want it to truly feel like I'm not just writing stories. I'm building a world.<p> 


	29. Chapter 29: A Pokemon Breeder's Ambition

Chapter 29: A Pokémon Breeder's Ambitions

Tia walks down the path with Cyndaquil and breathes in the gentle scent of flowers mixed with the fresh sea air. "I got to give it to Johto, it's a beautiful place." Tia walks along happily with cheerful spring in her step.

"Well I'm glad you enjoy our humble region." An old man over hears. "I take it you're not from around these parts?" He asks her politely as he sits on a bench near the city's entrance.

Tia casually sits next to him. "Yeah, I'm from Kanto. I just got in this morning. This is my partner Cyndaquil." Cyndaquil leaps into her lap and lies down peacefully.

"Cute, so what brings you to Johto anyway?" He begs the question, though he's pretty sure of her answer already.

Tia gets that same determined look in her eyes. "To take on the Pokémon league and become the best trainer ever!" She points to the sky in a bold declaration.

The old man laughs, "Very good, youth today is so ambitious. When I was your age I remember running all around Johto trying to be the best too. Well, then I met my wife and fell in love. With her and Cherrygrove." He laughs heartily.

Tia lets the wind brush through her hair and takes a calm breath. "It is a lovely city," There is a certain gentle feel to Cherrygrove that makes Tia smile. "It was nice talking to you sir, but I should probably head to the Pokemon center so I can heal my Cyndaquil." Tia holds onto Cyndaquil and stands up as she waves politely.

"Well, I don't want to hold you up. It was pleasure talking to you. Remember never let that youthful spirit go!" He says energetically.

Tia cradles Cyndaquil I her arms with a lax and calming presence. "What a nice guy. I'm loving this region already." Tia looks around at the large city trying to find a Pokémon Center. She a little shocked to see a Blissey run towards her. It hops up and down dancing cheerfully. "Aw, hi there. I'm Tia. What are you doing all on your own?" She pets it on the top of its head.

"Blissey!" A disheveled girls voice cries out not far behind. She runs up behind the Pokémon and pauses to catch her breath. "What have I told you about running off like that?" She returns her Pokémon. "Sorry about that, my Blissey can be overly friendly and energetic." She apologizes profusely. The girl in question is tall, slender, and pale. Her bright blonde hair and silver eyes shimmer in the morning sun elegantly. Everything about her seems like a sharp contrast to Tia's own figure.

"It's alright, my name's Tia. What's yours?" She extends out a hand.

She shakes Tia's hand. "My name's Anna, nice to meet you." She says with a bright smile on her face. "That's a cute Cyndaquil you have there." Anna points out.

"Oh yeah, I just got him today from Prof. Elm." She explains.

"Oh so you're a Pokémon trainer then?" Anna asks checking out her clothing and messenger bag.

Tia nods, "Yeah, I already beat the Kanto league so I figured the next logical step would be Johto. What about you, are you a trainer too?" Tia asks though she doesn't look the part of a trainer for some reason.

Anna shakes her head, "I'm here in Johto because I want to be a Pokémon breeder; I was a trainer once. Back in the days when I was in Sinnoh. I also tried being a coordinator, but I finally came to realize my true calling." She answers maturely.

"That's cool a friend of mine use to be a big time trainer too, but he decided to become a researcher. Makes sense because he's really smart." Tia briefly remises her time with Tom. "Are you learning here or are you travelling?" Tia asks curiously.

"I'm only in Cherrygrove so I can meet Mr. Pokémon, afterwards I'm heading to Goldenrod City." She speaks with a twinge of excitement in her voice.

"Cool, I'm actually heading towards Mr. Pokémon's house too. If you don't mind, maybe we can travel together for a bit at least until we get to Mr. Pokémon's place?" Tia offers hoping she'll say yes.

Anna smiles widely, "I'd love to traveling is always better with company." She says cheerfully. "First, your Cyndaquil looks a little tired." She points out.

"Oh right, I need to head to the center first!" Tia panics.

Anna laughs, "Calm down he's just a little worn out. Here," she extends out her hand with another type of berry. Cyndaquil quickly eats it and is back to full strength. "Alright, so let's head out." Anna leads the way.

"So is Mr. Pokemon a researcher too?" Tia asks not knowing much about the guy since Tom never talked much about him or the time he spent with him.

"Yeah basically, he likes to study a lot of different aspects of Pokémon and breeding is one of the big ones. That's why I want to meet him." She smiles and steps out of the city with Tia. "His home is through these fields a bit. So good thing Cyndaquil's all healed up in case wild Pokémon pop up." Anna advises.

All they seem to find are a bunch of docile bugs in their travel though. Nothing Cyndaquil couldn't handle. Tia makes an effort to pick up as many different wild berries as she can so she is well prepared for anything. The duo finally hit a small clearing with a small house in it.

"Is that it?" Tia squints trying to get a good look from a distance.

Anna is absolutely giddy. "Yeah, come on let's go!" She picks up the pace. The girls spot a man standing outside the house next to a large rock.

Tia recognizes the figure. "Hey, is that Prof. Oak?" This explains why he wasn't there to say goodbye this morning.

Prof Oak stands next to the rock where an Elekid stood in front of it. It pumps its arm and bolts of electricity spark up. With a series powerful punches the rock crumbles into a million pieces.

Oak laughs, "Simply amazing, you certainly bred a really fighter." He comments seemingly to himself.

"Prof. Oak!" Tia shouts running up to him.

"Tia? Well this is a pleasant surprise I wasn't expecting you for a couple more hours." He looks at his watch. "Well, you made wonderful time, and who is your friend?" He looks over her shoulder to a stunned Anna.

"A…Anna sir!" She extends a hand nervously. "It's an honor to meet you." She says stiffly. Oak laughs pleasantly and shakes her hand.

"No need to be so formal. I don't bite." Nervously Anna decides to take a brief walk around the area to calm herself down.

"So that's a pretty powerful Elekid you've got there Professor." Tia admired its power and confident airs.

He smiles and watches it walk off. "Actually it's not my Pokémon, I just had to see its power first hand." He writes down some notes on what he just witnessed.

"Then does it belong to Mr. Pokémon?" Tia asks.

The Elekid walks up catching Tia's eye. She bends down and looks at it setting her own Pokémon down to interact with it.

"Actually, he's mine." An all too familiar voice says.

Tia darts up and looks the trainer in the face. His soft expression, toothy grin, and caring tendencies mixed with pure brute strength.

Her eyes water slightly. "Tom!" She shouts running up and wrapping her arms around him nearly knocking them both to the ground.

Tom laughs, "Whoa excitable as ever, careful you almost knocked up both over." He pats her on the head and smiles.

"It's great to see you again. You look different. New clothes?" She notices he's now wearing black shorts, white shirt, and a red hoody with black ascents.

"Same here. I like your clothes too. Really emphasizes your chest." He points out positively.

Tia covers her chest with her arms. "I will kill you!" She shouts in a flustered voice panicking the whole time. Leave it to Tom to make some remark to make her self-conscious all over again.

"Wha? It's true, you look older this way." He says harmlessly, but can't help laugh a little too.

After regaining her composure she spots Anna. "I almost forgot. This is my friend…" Before Tia can finish her though something stopped her. Something about the look Anna gave Tom. Anna's eyes are wide and shocked.

He sighs, "We've met. It's nice to see you again Anna." Tom tries to sound optimistic. He knows it's to no avail, she's fighting back an internal struggle. He can feel all her envy surfacing, but moreover a longing feeling she was giving off. As if deep down she wished for some miracle Tom knows will never happen.

She quietly walks up to him. "It's nice to see you again. It's been a while since that time in Cerulean." She says timidly.

Tia scratches her head. "Um…am I missing something here? Wait Cerulean? Like when I was with Tom in Cerulean?" She finally starts to put the pieces together.

"You were there? This was when Tom was trying to get back together with his ex." She clarified.

Tia points stares mouth agape. "_You're _the girl he went on the date with? I was battle Misty at the time." Everything's out in the open now.

Anna blushes, "I never heard back from you, so I figured everything went well with you and your ex." She looks down at her feet.

"Speaking of Sabrina. She does know you're here this time right?" Tia gives Tom a mischievous grin trying not to laugh in light of everything that happened last time.

Anna quickly looks over at Tia. "Wait, so he was dating Sabrina?" She knew about his secret crush he carried, but Tom never mentioned who or that it came to be.

"I Am dating Sabrina and yes Tia, she knows." Tom assures her. "Mr. Pokémon just called me a few days ago and told me about a Pokémon he wanted me to help breed. This little guy is definitely a powerhouse. So I'll be training him since he won't listen to anyone else." Tom says proudly while Elekid puffs out its chest to impress everyone else.

"Cute," she says fawning over the Elekid, "but why you specifically?"

"It makes perfect sense; your breeding skills, plus a Pokémon world champion like you could raise any Pokémon." Anna says in a fan girl fit of excitement. "I mean…because you're a good trainer and researcher." She recovers as she tries not to sound too obsessed.

"I appreciate the compliment. You are right though." He humbly admits.

Tia gives him a sideways glance and mulls over what Anna just said. "Did you say Pokémon _world_ champion?" She exclaims curiously not sure if she heard right or if Anna misspoken.

Tom panics and wants to say something, but it's too late. "Of course Tom's won the Pokémon World Tournament the last two years in a row. He is officially the best trainer in the world. No gym leader, Elite Four member, champion, or Frontier Brain can compare." She boasts for him.

"Again, I appreciate the compliments, but you can turn it down a few notches I'm just a normal guy like anyone else." Tom doesn't like to indulge in his titles or positions; unless he really needs to. Plus, it's embarrassing since he never actually told Tia he was the world champion. He never even properly told her that he was Kanto's league champion. He only took that position because Gary ran out and he wanted to be closer to Sabrina.

"How could you have never told me that?" Tia shouts feeling insulted that he'd hide something that big from him. She throws up her arms in defeat. "Oh right, because you never tell me anything. I only figured out you were the champion because Team Rocket forced your hand, just like how you were X, and how you had Rayquaza!" She is livid now, but for some reason just seeing him it's like she could understand why. He always made himself out to be a monster in disguise. So why not try to be more of a very calm, relaxed, and down to earth guy? As embarrassing as it is to admit she liked that quality about him. He never put himself above others and when it counts he was always there. There is still the darker side that lies below, but he seems to try his best to suppress it.

Tom sighs, "Sorry Tia I just don't care about that sort of thing anymore. I only maintain the title because I'm pretty much forced to compete every year. It's not my fault no one can beat me." Strangely enough he seems annoyed, but sounding very high and mighty.

"Gee what a problem to have. Why am I so awesome?" She sarcastically mocks him. "Okay, I'm here to see Mr. Pokémon about some sort of research thing?" Tia turns the conversation around on a dime and begins looking for him before walking up to his door. As Tia begins to knock on the door it suddenly flies open.

"Why hello there missy I've been expecting you come in, come in!" He grabs her by the wrist and drags her inside.

Tom and Anna just watch as Tia dragged inside. "So…how have you been?" The awkwardness soon follows.

"Good, just training and learning more about breeding. You?" Anna timidly tries to keep the conversation lively.

"That's nice, I've just been doing research and little training here and there. I've been battle Sabrina a lot." He bites his tongue mentioning his girlfriend in from of her of all people.

She shakes her head, "Don't worry its fine Tom, I'm happy for you." She says pleasantly, but Tom knows she's lying through her teeth. She is happy for him, though incredibly envious and jealous of Sabrina.

"You know it's really hard to lie to an Empath." He jokes getting a confused glance in return. "Empath's like me can read emotions without people having to express them. I can feel you're jealous." He says more seriously.

Anna can't believe what she just heard. She's nothing short of amazed that he can literally feel what she feels deep down. She swallows a lump in his throat. "I'm so stupid. I know we don't have a chance. Especially when you're already in a relationship." She tries to fight back a couple tears.

"You'll find someone even better I'm sure." He assures her and pats her on the shoulder.

She lets out a soft breath, "I hope so, sorry about all this." She says weakly. Tom wants to say more, but as her opens his mouth Tia runs out with an egg.

"Okay I get it, it's a very important Pokémon egg." She says flustered. Tia runs out the door with Mr. Pokémon chasing after her with a huge list of instruction spouting off every little detail. She runs up to Anna and Tom. "Please sir, I understand!" She looks disheveled and wearily after talking to him for no more than five minutes.

"This is very important it requires constant care and no more than thirteen hours of direct sunlight. Also, be sure to wash the egg once every hour on the hour." He says reading over the entire list of ridiculous instruction.

"Calm down, it'll be okay in her hand. I trust her Mr. Pokémon." Tom intervenes. "Tia go, if you don't he'll go on for hours. Don't worry about me!" He says putting his hands on Mr. Pokémon shoulders shaking him.

Tia runs off with Anna close behind. "You heard the man." She sprints out of sight of the house. The two stop to take a breath. "Sorry about that, he just wouldn't shut up. I swear he told me to hold the container at a straight ninety degree angle from noon to four p.m. and from the hours of five to six p.m. a ninety-five degree angle so that the base was pointing to the south." She rubs the back of her head and finally takes a look at the Pokémon egg.

"I can't believe Mr. Pokémon gave you a Pokémon egg!" Anna says excitedly.

"Me neither, I have to get this back to Elm quickly. Good thing I have a Pokémon breeder in training to help me." She smiles with a wide grin at Anna.

She laughs nervously, "Well, I'm no expert, but I'll do my best to help." She says modestly and rubs the back of her head. "Do we take it back to Prof. Elm now?"

Tia nods and continues down the road. "I think we should call him up first." She mess around on her X-transceiver and calls him. His face pops on her screen. "Hello professor we have the egg you wanted." She smiles.

"That's wonderful Tia. I've been thinking the best way to study the egg is in a natural environment so would you be so kind as to hatch it for me and tell me the results when it hatches? You can of course keep the Pokémon as a thank you." He instructs with a pleasant smile.

Tia face lights up, "Yeah I'd love too. I've never hatched an egg before this will be so cool." She can see that Anna's really excited too.

"Perfect, also another trainer came by today. His name's Silver you should say hi if you run into him in in Cherrygrove. He's your age and has red hair." Elm explains and shows her a picture of him. She can immediately tell from his picture he's a very serious person.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for him." She says and hangs up. "Well, looks like I'll really need your help with this egg now." She giggles and looks over at Anna who can barely contain her excitement.

The two make their way back to Cherrygrove City occasionally stopping to admire the scenery. The city is in view when Tia notices a guy with a Totodile and sporting red hair. He spots her looking at him. He glares back at her.

"Can I help you?" He says with a sharp edge in his tone of voice.

Tia hesitates for a moment. "Sorry, but you're Silver right? Prof. Elm told me about you. You a new trainer?" She asks politely.

He turns up his nose. "What's it to you?" His serious demeanor coupled with his rude response doesn't earn him good will toward either of the girls.

"I was just wondering if we could have a Pokémon battle." Her annoyance is starting to seep through.

"Fine whatever, no one else has been much of a challenge." He says pompously. Totodile steps up and jumps around happily.

"Go Cyndaquil!" She sets down the egg and throws the Pokeball. "Use Tackle on Totodile." She carefully instructs her Pokémon. Cyndaquil runs up to Totodile who is too busy having fun jumping around. The Tackle hits and makes Totodile fumble a bit.

Silver smirks, "Use Water Gun and get it over with." He says nonchalantly. To Tia's chagrin his Pokémon had already learned a water type move. The attack nails Cyndaquil who shivers and gets back to his feet. That was a heavy hit for sure, but Tia's not ready to give up yet.

"Okay Cyndaquil, use Smokescreen and hopefully it'll give you cover." A large plume of smoke escapes Cyndaquil's mouth and covers the battlefield. "Use Tackle in the smoke." She orders which he executes perfectly.

"Water Gun!" Silver demands angrily. Totodile tries to douse the entire field with water hoping for a solid hit. "Dammit!" He balls his hands into a fist. "Hit the thing!"

Tia can tell the kind of trainer he is, very aggressive and brutal. He has a temper, but he doesn't seem to be too impatient.

Tia smiles triumphantly. "One more time Cyndaquil." Her Pokémon runs up behind Totodile and rams into it knocking it to the ground. Once the smoke clears Cyndaquil stood victorious over Totodile. "Good job Cyndaquil!" She runs up and lifts her Pokémon into her arms.

Silver returns Totodile his Pokeball. "We need to practice more. She's better than I expected." He points at Tia. "What's your name?" He demands.

She scowls back at him. "How rude. If you really want to know its Tia." She declares proudly and puffs out her chest. "I recently beat the Kanto league and took down Team Rocket so I'm not just some new trainer here." She brags with her head held high.

Silver's eyes shoot open. "You beat Team Rocket? Next time I will beat you!" He shouts and begins walking off. He looks down at his Pokeball, "She's the one we have to beat."

* * *

><p>That you all for reading and hope you enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and your thoughts of the series as a whole. Anna's back. You all didn't really think she'd just be this one note character did you? I also got to introduce Silver, whom I want to be different from the bland, annoying kid in the games. So this was a small sample of what battles will be like in the future. A lot more detail oriented with interesting and unique strategies to keep them fresh. You might have also noticed that this is the longest standing chapter now. It was originally 5,000 words, but the latter half was cut and will be reworked into next chapter. A lot of it was superfluous details anyway. So it will not be missed.<p> 


	30. Chapter 30: The Fragrance of the Sea

Chapter 30: The Fragrance of the Sea

The girls walk into to town and reach the Pokémon Center. It's about midafternoon and everything seems peaceful and calm. Tia hands her Cyndaquil's ball to the nurse and takes a seat. "Man, today's been an exciting day; my feet could use the rest." She giggles.

Anna thinks for a second, "Do you think we should stop for today and head to Violet City tomorrow?" She suggests.

Tia glimpse at her map. "Yeah that's pretty far away and I've already walked enough for today. Plus, I need supplies." She walks up to the nurse and gets a room for her and Anna. "Here's your key, I'll be back in a little bit." Tia walks out and heads to the PokeMart.

The gentle breeze is quite refreshing to Tia as she breathes in the sea air. She walks into the small convenient which is filled to the brim with items of all kinds for trainers. She has more than enough money from everything she made in Kanto so makes sure to fill up on Potions and Pokeballs for future uses. Tia still has to time to kill so she continues to walk about town checking out all the flowers that make the city famous. It's so serene and natural she can't help but be in a good mood. She walks as far as the shore and breathes in the sea air. At some point she needs to visit this town again.

"I love this city." Tia smiles with a relaxed look about her. As if she could just sit down on the bench near the coast and just drift off. As tempting as that is she chooses to turn back and heads back to the Pokémon center. The leisurely walk managed to burn an hour when she check her X-transceiver. She steps into the air conditioned center and up to the second floor where all the trainer could stay. She walks into her room where she sees Anna's things all over one of the beds.

Tia sets things down and puts the egg on a table. She stretches and flops down on her bed. She's filled with thoughts of how she'll take on the Johto League and someday being an even stronger trainer. Tia also gives her egg a quick glimpse. What will it hatch into? Her mind is abuzz at the possibilities of what is inside this simple, little egg. Amidst her daydreaming Anna steps out of the bathroom looking refreshed.

"Oh hey Tia, I didn't know you were back." Anna dries her hair off and brushes her blonde locks straight.

"I just go in. Seeing you now makes me want to get a shower myself." She chuckles.

Anna giggles too, "Don't worry there's still plenty of hot water. It does wonders after all that walking we did." Anna lets out a relieved sigh and hops onto her beg with a gentle thud. "I swear Pokemon Centers have the best beds." She stretches out her arms giving it a full embrace.

Tia can't help giggle at Anna's excitement over something as simple as the beds in the centers. Tia had to agree though. Without a doubt they are world class. No doubt made from the finest Mareep wool. Amongst all this it reminds her of the joys of traveling with company. "I will take a quick shower." She hops up and heads into the bathroom.

Anna herself gets up and rummages through her bag for a magazine she'd just purchased. All about the finer points of breeding and raising Pokemon. She looks up at Tia's egg and has similar thoughts about the possibilities that come from just one egg. Deep down beats the heart of a trainer, but Anna also found joy in breeding and raising Pokemon. She knows breeding is a popular methodology of many ace trainers and gym leaders as well. Anna's mind begins to wander as she thinks of the possibly of being a Pokemon league gym leader. She dismisses this though. She wasn't really cut out for the Pokemon league. Despite how much she loved training and battling.

Anna continues to day dream while she reads as Tia steps out of the bathroom with a serene smile. "That really do the trick." Tia steps out with a towel over her head and a towel on. She grabs a change of clothes and heads back for the bathroom.

"Where are you going?" Anna seems a little confused by Tia's hasty retreat.

"To get changed?" Tia figures that should be pretty obvious.

"Why? We're both girls here." She snickers thinking nothing of it.

Tia blushes, "You're just as bad as Tom!"

"We're going to be traveling together so it's probably going to happen at some point anyway." It's at this point Anna is having a little fun at Tia's expense.

Tia huffs and walks into the bathroom with a loud slam. She emerges a moment later dressed with towel in hand. "Here, take care of this for me." She throws the towel at Anna's face in a huff.

Anna's taking off guard, but laughs none the less. "Sorry Tia, I didn't know that was such a sensitive topic for you." Unlike Tom, Anna is will to apologize for her actions.

"Its fine, I guess I should be used to this after all the time I've spend with Tom. It's just I'm not really ready for all that. I know Tom doesn't have a problem with it, and apparently neither do you. I just keep that stuff private." She says nervously.

"I understand, I have an idea since we're both already all cleaned up. Let's held out and find a nice restaurant to eat at." Anna picks up a small guide book with all the things to do around Johto. "There's a nice seaside restaurant we can indulge in." Anna mentions in a very enticing manner.

"Sounds good to me. This will give us more time to talk and get to know each other too." Tia definitely wants to get to know her new travelling companion.

The two head out as the afternoon slowly slips into evening with twilight on the horizon. The small restaurant near the edge of Cherrygrove offers a great view from the sea from the deck where a few other patrons ate. Quaint and peaceful, much like the city itself.

Tia looks on from her table at the ocean view. "I've always loved the ocean." A nostalgic smile crosses her face.

"A fan of the sea I see," Anna giggles and gets a glimpse of Tia's entranced expression. "The ocean is really nice and looks amazing from here."

"I've always loved swimming and when I was little my dad took me on the S.S. Tidal in Hoenn." The waiter approaches and takes their orders.

Anna brings back up the topic of the S.S. Tidal. "Are you from Lilycove City?"

Tia shakes her head, "No, I was born and raised in Pallet Town, but my dad is a Frontier Brain." She figures this is no big deal to tell people since she's now a trainer herself. In the past people always expected her to be just like her father and become a trainer. It wasn't until Gary left that she realized that she wants to be a trainer.

"Well that's quite a reputation to live up to. I'm just a simple girl from Snowpoint. My sister's the gym leader though." Anna is definitely proud to tell people her sister is Candice the gym leader.

"I had a feeling you were from Sinnoh. What's it like in Snowpoint?" This seems to pique Tia's curiosity.

"Cold as hell," she blatantly throws it out there before the two of them both burst into laughter. "Sorry, but it's true. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. My sister loves it though. She wears short skirt for crying out loud."

"Yeah, I'll take tropic climates and warm weather any day thank you." Tia comments as their food arrives. Anna decided to get a burger, fries, and soda. While Tia, ever the health enthusiast, ordered a chef's salad and berry smoothie.

Anna digs into her meal and notices Tia's rather calm and dignified manner of eating. "Funny, I never pictured you as a health aficionado Tia."

Tia shrugs and eats peacefully. "You have to eat right if you want to stay active. Before I became a trainer I always figured I'd be a fitness trainer or chef. Since I was either helping my mom in the kitchen or playing outside." Tia shares more of her past with Anna. Something she and Tom didn't do too much. Tom being so secretive didn't really help matters though.

"I'm sure with a figure like yours that all the guys come running." Anna teases as she does admire Tia's slim physique and surprisingly ample curves.

She blushes, "I tend to ignore those types." Tia didn't like judging others from face value, nor did she like others doing it to her.

"Better than me. With this figure I'll look like I'm sixteen forever." Anna's self-consciousness begins to show.

"Well there's nothing wrong with looking young. Plus, you look go for sixteen." Tia tries to calm down Anna, but this seems to be too little avail.

"I'm eighteen!" She says in agony.

Tia winces, "Well there you go. You have a very youthful expression. Guys like that. So you struck out with Tom. There's more fish in the sea." Tia is not the best with this kind of consoling.

Anna sighs, "You're right, no point is whining. Just keep trying." Anna feels empowered when Tia motivates her. Truly a sign they will be good friends.

"There you go. You're a strong, independent, woman who doesn't need a man!" Tia cheers laughing the whole time.

The two share a laugh unaware of who is approaching. "I'm not interrupting this of the feminine counsel am I?"

The two glance over at their favorite champion. "Hey Tom, wasn't expecting you here." Tia plays this off casually.

"Yeah, turns out Mr. Pokemon forgot to stock his fridge. So Cleffa and I hit the town. I love this restaurant anyway." He sits down at the table next to theirs. "I'm actually surprised you're not half way to Violet City yet Tia." Tom checks out the menu to hide his sneaky grin.

"I had my fill of walking today. I have to get my travelling legs broken in again. Plus, I'm sure Anna wouldn't want to walk all that way in one day too."

"So you two are travelling together then?" Tom asks quizzically, but isn't too surprised that Tia wanted to travel with a new companion.

"Yeah and we should probably head back to the center and rest up for tomorrow's journey." She pays the bill and waves good bye to Tom.

"See you around Tom." Anna says with a cheerful grin as she follows Tia.

Tom smiles and waves goodbye. He sits silently as her waits for his order when his X-Transceiver begins to ring. Tom sighs and answers, "Hello?"

It's an audio only call with a distorted voice speaking to him. "Anything new to report?"

Tom shakes his head, "No and why do you have to be so cloak and dagger about it?"

"We must keep our identities and mission a secret." The mysterious voice instructs him.

"Okay Brooke, but this is a little over the top." Tom has had about of the crap Adam and the others have been giving him.

"Use my codename come on."

"No,"

"Please?"

Tom just hangs up and rolls his eyes. He was not in the mood, but after all the favors he called in he's kind of at their mercy for the time being. He just hopes he can avoid getting anyone else involved in the tangled mess he's found himself in. Especially not Tia.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. I think the biggest thing about Johto for me so far is that this arc has been paced a lot better. I'm glad I've given the world more of a sense of time to it. Plus, I've gotten the chance to develop Tia's character more as well. I can tell you now that Johto is actually at least twice as long as Kanto was as well.<p> 


	31. Chapter 31: Old and New Companion

Chapter 31: Old and New Companion

It's the dawn of a new day and Tia rises bright and early. She walks up to the window and opens the blinds to the bright sun outside on the horizon. Anna squints and shifts around in her bed.

"Who let the sun in?" Anna moans and rubs her eyes as she sits up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake up." Tia quickly apologizes and runs out of the bed room. She excited to start the morning and her journey in Johto can truly begin today. She is happy to see the fridge is fully stocked with food.

Anna herself takes her time preparing and getting ready for the day. She goes through her usual rituals before stepping out. She sees Tia's already made breakfast and is eating away. "You definitely don't slouch on your healthy lifestyle." Anna comments and starts eating before Tia clears the whole table.

"Healthy food makes for a healthy body and mind. That regular exercise will assure a long prosperous life." Tia seems quite proud of her little philosophy.

"Well definitely better than living the Snorlax lifestyle." Anna continues to eat and looks down at the time. "Wait it's seven? You do sure love getting up early." Anna can't really say the same however.

"Early Pidgey gets the Wurmple." Tia's demeanor is ever radiant.

"You're just full of philosophies today aren't you?" Anna jokes and finishes her meal. "Well, no time to waste then. I'm ready when you are."

The two head down to the first floor of the center. Tia is about to rush out the door when she over hears something.

"Yeah I have a few things to deal with in Johto then I'll be heading home." A young man speaks to a computer screen.

"Tom?" Tia isn't too surprised to see him since she can understand why he'd want to get away from Mr. Pokemon every now and than.

Tom notices her and smiles as he waves her over. "Hey babe, look I ran into." Tia walks up behind him.

"Hey Sabrina, how are you?" Tia waves cheerfully.

"Hi Tia, I'm good. Good luck with the Johto league. I'm guessing Tom's going to be helping you out again." Sabrina chuckles seemingly knows something Tia doesn't.

"I don't know?" She looks at him, "Do you just conveniently have to head to Violet City?" She smirks.

"Actually, I have legitimate reasons. So looks like we're traveling together again after all." He smiles with his usual toothy grin.

"Great, it'll be nice to travel together again. Also, we can't forget about Anna." Tia pulls Anna into view of Sabrina.

"Yeah… I'm kind of heading to Goldenrod City." She blushes feeling nervous that the focus is now forced on her.

Tom can tell she's nervous so he steps in, "Well, I'll talk to you later dear. Love you," Tom says his goodbyes and waves.

"I love you too, Tom." Sabrina happily waves back before hanging up.

He gets up and grabs his bag. "So looks like we're heading to Violet City." He calls out Cleffa and holds her close.

"Off we go then!" Tia cheers a runs out the door with Tom and Anna causally follow behind. Anna looks down trying to hide a frown her face.

Tom sighs, "This is a bit awkward isn't it?" He rubs his head feeling her emotions strong as ever. He can tell she's just a cacophony of emotions.

"Yeah, this is going to take a little getting used to." Anna does her best to smile. At the very least if she can't be with him then at least he's with someone who truly does love him.

Tom sense this subtle change in mood. "What's this, are you feeling relieved?" He teases and nudges her arm.

Anna smirks, "I'm just happy to see Sabrina treats you right."

"Yeah, she's wonderful. I think you two would get along. So I'm a little surprised you joined up with Tia." Tom is definitely interested in their teaming up.

"I think we can both agree it's never a dull moment with her around. Plus, it's nice having company." The two of them can definitely admit that.

"No joke, but you're really alright travelling with me?" He asks with a bit more concern. He wants to get the heart of the problem out of the way.

Anna nods peacefully, "I've come to terms with this Tom. Trust me, I may be a mess of emotions sometimes, but this is something I've come to peace with." Her response is very mature which makes Tom smile.

"Glad to hear it, but if you ever need to talk I'm hear. I'm not an Empath for nothing." He jokes and lifts Cleffa to his face happily.

Anna takes note of that last statement. "I've heard of Empaths, but I've never met one before. What are Empaths able to do?" This subject piques Anna's curiosity.

"I'd be happy to explain," Tom smirks and takes a second to gather his thoughts. "Empaths are similar to Aura Seers, but we sense emotions. We absorb the emotions of others like a sponge. So we see what others can't. Every Empath is different. We can't really turn off our powers, but some are capable of tuning out other people's emotions. Others can form power empathic likes with people and Pokemon. So go as far as being to perfectly communicate with their Pokemon." His explanation is very technical, but Anna's ever attentive to his explanation.

"So what kind of Empath are you?" Anna immediately goes for the obvious question.

Tom sigh heavily, "The worst kind. I'm only sixteen so I can't fully control my abilities yet, but I can't block other's emotions. What's worse is I can project my emotions onto others by force. It's… terrifying to say the least."

"I don't think so." Anna is rather optimistic about Tom's confession. "Think of the good you can do with that kind of power. Mind if I see your ability in action?"

He shrugs, "You've seen in action plenty, but sure why not." Tom looks around as they walk about the town towards the exit. He spots an elderly man walking down the road. "That man," he quietly points him out to Anna. "I sense loneliness and a sense of loss. A spouse, family member, friend, or Pokemon may have recently passed."

Anna nods, "We can see how you can put your power to a good use now."

"What do you mean?" Tom fails to get what's going on in her head.

She walks up to the elderly man. "Good morning sir," she smiles brightly.

The elderly gentleman smiles back. "Good morning to you too young lady."

Anna nods for Tom to join in. "Sure is a nice day," he spots a newspaper the man seemed to be reaching for. "Here you go." He smiles and hands it off to him.

"Why thank you both, I hope you two have a lovely day." He smiles warmly and walks back into his house with a bit more upbeat step.

"See? We probably just made that man's day." Anna's optimism shines brightly.

Tom smiles too, "I will admit you sure know how to see the upside. Come on, Tia's probably waiting." They continue out of town and towards the tall grass.

Once their conversation is done they spot Tia picking a fight with a trainer.

"She's a real spit fire." Tom notices her excitement and remembers their previous adventure. "Wait Cyndaquil? Why did she choose the calm, docile one?" Tom's baffled.

"Is that bad?" Anna asks noticing Cyndaquil's more relaxed nature.

"No, but why didn't Tia choose the hyperactive Totodile? I was almost positive she would have. Maybe she's starting to act more mature?" he mulls over in his head.

"Another victory for us! Johto's going to be a cinch!" She brags.

"Then again, I could be wrong." He sighs and shakes his head.

The trainer calls back his Pokémon. "How could I lose? My Rattata is in the top percentage of Rattata. If only I would have caught that Pidgey." The poor kid hands Tia her wins and heads off to the center.

"Top percentage?" Tom asks a little confused.

"Kids will believe anything." Tia laughs.

"Don't I recall a certain trainer getting scammed into buying a Magikarp?" Tom can't help but bring up Tia's rookie mistake. Despite how powerful her Gyarados became it still was a scam and she should have known better.

"Wait are you talking about that con man outside of the Mt. Moon? You actually bought one of his Magikarp?" Anna shakes her head wishing Tia was smarter than that.

"Hey, I was still new back then!" Tia argues her point, but only give Tom more ammunition to work with.

"So you and that kid were at one point exactly the same?" Tom's logic was pretty solid. Except it is Tia so logic is not very effective against her.

"Shut up!" She runs off again in a huff.

"She's just a ball of energy isn't she?" Anna ponders. "She's giving Cyndaquil are run for his money too." Tia's Pokémon seemed to being having a hard time keeping up with her.

"Yeah, that's Tia for ya." Tom laughs, "I just hope she doesn't get a swelled head. I'd hate to see her get knocked down a few pegs. Although, I know someone who could humble her real quickly." Tom gets a slightly mischievous look about him.

"Someone other than you?" Anna sounds almost a little frightened.

"Me? That's be a slaughter. I'm thinking someone closer to her level." He is wearing a scheming grin now. He doesn't want it to come to this, but he knows how to handle ego problems.

The two catch up to her again; to no surprise she's already knee deep in another battle. "Cynadquil let's try out your new move: Ember!" A powerful burst of flames shoot out of Cyndaquil's mouth and toast a poor Caterpie.

The Bug Catcher hangs his head in defeat and recalls his Pokémon. "You win…" He hands her the money and runs.

She smiles and picks up her little fire type. "You're doing wonderful Cyndaquil!"

Anna watches the whole spectacle, Tia's fiery personality in battle, and her zealous love for Pokémon touched her heart in a way she couldn't help smile. "You and Cyndaquil are something else Tia. You're really making the most out of his abilities." She assess.

"Thanks Anna, who knows I might be as good as Tom one of these days." She chirps setting her Cyndaquil down.

"I'd like to see that." Tom speaks up maliciously with an equally disturbing look on his face. The girl look back at him like they saw a ghost. He regains his composure. "Sorry old habits die hard." He laughs it off and walks on head.

"Scary…" The two say in unison.

Tia and Anna continue down the path when out of nowhere a blur flies over and hits Tia. She stammers back, "What the hell?" She spots a Pokémon in a tree laughing and taunting her with a large horn on its face. "Cocky thing isn't he?" Tia smirks and sets Cyndaquil down.

"Woah a Heracross, that's a pretty rare sight." Anna says excitedly.

Tia checks her Pokedex, "A bug type, suck to be you Heracross, because Cyndaquil with roast you easily." She taunts it back.

The Heracross swoops down and scoops up Cyndaquil in its horn and held her Pokémon while he struggled. Heracross toss Cyndaquil up into the air and flies at it with an Aerial Ace. Cyndaquil hits the dirt hard and struggles to get back up.

"Man that thing's smart." Tia admits feeling like she's in a bit of a bad spot right now. "Cyndaquil use Ember on it." The fire type gets to his feet and blasts ember into the air. The horned Pokémon is unfortunately too high in the air for the small flames to reach, and those that did Heracross easily avoids.

It swoops down once again this time with a Night Slash beating down poor Cyndaquil. Tia is amazed at just how strong this Heracross is and she hasn't even hit it.

"That Heracross is amazing!" Anna is getting excited by this battle. She could tell Heracross was a strong fighter and wasn't about to give up without a fight.

Tom walks up beside Anna, "He's really giving Tia a run for her money there." He says with a more serious expression.

"Can she win?" Anna asks nervously.

"Not if she continues battling the way she has been." He looks on stoically at the battle intensely. "What will she do?"

Anna balls her fist and shouts, "Tia, you have to slow down and concentrate!" Tom looks over at her stunned and shakes his head.

Tia stops for a moment and contemplate Anna's words, Slowing down is not exactly something she did often so she decided to just focus on the Heracross. She watches intently and waits for it to strike next. In the blink of an eye the Heracross charge down at Cyndaquil determined to finish this battle. "Cyndaquil quickly move left!" On her command the fire type shuffled over and narrowly avoided the incoming attack. "Ember, before it can turn around!" Her timing and coordination is spot on, hitting the bug types exposed back. Heracross is far from down though. Regain its composure the Heracross whips around determined to scoop up Cyndaquil again. Tia stands waiting for it to get just close enough. "Now, jump and use Ember!" Cyndaquil does just that; jumping clear over the horn and spitting fire all over Heracross's head like hail. The Heracross collapses and slides across the ground. As it gets to its feet Tia tosses a Pokeball at it hitting the unsuspecting Pokémon in the face.

The ball shakes once, twice, three time, and locks. Tia catches Heracross successfully. She runs up and picks up her Pokeball triumphantly. She cheers and Anna herself was so impressed she couldn't help run over and give Tia a congratulatory hug.

"Tia that was amazing!" She says so excitedly and squeezes her tightly.

"Thanks Anna, but you're crushing me." She laughs as Anna lets go embarrassed.

Tom walks up with a frown on his face. "You shouldn't have helped her."

Anna looks down, "Sorry…"

"Hey, I wouldn't have won if it weren't for her." Tia defends.

"Exactly, you need to learn the hard way sometimes. You're rash and impatient; that's why I'm telling her not to butt in. You're a trainer so you should be able to stand with your own two feet." Tom scolds her in a way he hasn't done so before.

"Well, sorry we can't all be as naturally gifted as you are Tom." She says bitterly.

"You think I'm just some natural? I worked to get where I am now! You're lucky, I didn't have anyone to help me or tell me what to do." He continues scolding her. He gets angrier and angrier as he's about to hit his breaking point.

Anna sigh and steps in, "You're right, I shouldn't have helped her." Anna admits. "I didn't have any help either. With all my failings I should have known."

Tia pouts, "Oh whatever! Some friend you two are." She calls out her Heracross and grabs Cyndaquil. "Come on guys. I'm sure you could use some healing." She storms off.

"She mad at us." Anna can't help feel bad deep down.

"She'll get over it. I know you are trying to be a good friend, but she needs to learn for herself still." Tom says more gently. "For what it's worth she way more mad at me than you." He pats her on the back. "Maybe I could allow someone to check on her to see if she's feeling alright." Tom lightens up a little.

Anna nods and goes to find Tia. Tom stays behind and looks at his X-Transceiver. He makes a quick call, but only gets a voice call.

"Hey man, it's been a while." He says pleasantly.

"Tom? Hey, it's been forever. How have you been?" A guy's voice comes in through the speaker sounding about his age.

"I've been good. I'm actually heading to Violet City and thought we could meet up?"

"Yeah totally, I've been pretty free lately so I have a light schedule." The guy sounds more than happy to oblige.

"Perfect, because I know a trainer who will like a battle with you." Tom adds a certain allure about this proposition.

"Nice, I've been wanting a good battle for a while now. They any good?" He asks anxiously.

"I'll let you be the judge of that." Tom is being as coy as possible.

The guy quickly catches on, "Right, I gotcha. I'm up for a little skill testing. Of course, I won't be going easy on them either." He laughs.

"I'd be mad if you did." Tom laughs.

"No doubt, well I'll see you then Tom."

"Later Falkner," Tom hangs up and begins thinking long and hard about how Tia will fare against the Johto leader.

All the while that was going on, Anna ran off to find Tia who was tending to her Pokémon's wounds.

"Hey Tia, I'm sorry about before." Anna says timidly.

"I'm not mad at you. Let's face it, Tom's right. I am way too reliant on others. I need to learn from my own mistakes. He even had to teach me type advantage when I fought Brock." She laughs.

"I think he wants you to calm down a little now. You are impatient." Anna timidly admits. "Not that you aren't a good trainer, it's just you could stand to be a little less energetic and excitable."

Tia sighs, "Yeah, story of my life. My mom always said I'm my father's daughter." She scratches her Cyndaquil's head and lets him run off and play with her new Heracross. "I can't help it I just always feel like I need to up and moving. Even now I just want to jump and start running." She's almost embarrassed to admit.

"It's just who you are; hyperactive, impatient, but so full of energy. Tom's more calm, cool, and collected. Although, he's a way more serious, almost vicious, battler. You have a lot more fun and are way less serious." Anna smiles and subtly scoots closer to Tia.

"You're starting to sound like him. Plus, you're making me sound so immature." She pouts and looks over at her Pokémon who are having fun playing around.

Anna looks over at Tia and smiles. "You are immature, but there's nothing wrong with that. It shows the kind of woman you're going to be. You're fun loving, energetic, and kind. Those are all great qualities if you ask me. Though I do like the emotional and romantic types as well." She explains.

Tia scoots over herself and leans against Anna. "Thanks Anna, that means a lot."

"Anytime Tia. Well, we should get going. I'm sure Tom's patiently waiting for us to get back." She extends out a hand to pull Tia up.

She lets go once Tia on her feet and the two make their way down the path back to Tom. They aren't too surprised to find him sitting down fawning over his Cleffa like she's his child.

Tia sneaks up behind and leans over his shoulder. "Does Sabrina ever get jealous of Cleffa?" She says with a cheesy smile and laughter.

Tom quickly gets to his feet. "Of course not, the bond between a trainer and their Pokémon is similar, yet very different than one between two people. I love them both equally, I just don't coddle Sabrina because that'd be pretty weird." Tom carefully elaborates the differences.

"I think I get it," Anna speaks up, "you care about them both equally, but in different ways." She feels more content with the fact that she doesn't have a chance.

"I'll never understand you, Tom." Tia gives up and keeps walking. "So how much further to Violet City?" She asks knowing Tom probably knows this region like the back of his hand.

"About another hour I'd say. We're making good time surprisingly. Plowing through everyone in the way helps I guess." Tom smirks. Even if he doesn't agree with her impatient attitude it is time efficient. Keeping up with her is the hardest part.

"We'll make it there in no time!" She charges forward with a renewed vigor.

"_Stubborn as a Tauros and skull thicker than a Cubone._" Tom tells himself.

Anna laughs overhearing Tom plight. "Never a dull moment, but I think it's one of her better traits." She admires Tia determination and zeal.

"You're the only one who like that trait." Tom says oh so matter-of-factly. He picks up the pace to try and keep up with her. "So what did you two talk about?" He asks with genuine curiosity.

"Well, we talked about how she could stand to be more patient." She mentions which Tom nods approvingly. "She mentioned she's her father's daughter."

"That's for damn sure." Tom thinks back to the time he met Noland. "Well, at least she's not mad at us. That's always a plus."

"Tia's a strong trainer. I can tell, but I'm worried too. She may not realize it, but the way she battles is very difficult and she's definitely not thinking through her attacks the way she should be." This is Anna's observation at least.

"Tia's very much a full frontal assault type of battler. Which could prove to be to her detriment. She favors speed, but doesn't utilize it effectively." Tom's been around the block enough times to have seen almost every type of battle strategy there is. "We'll find out soon enough."

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. Once more we've broken the record for longest chapter to date. This was admittedly very dialogue heavy, but it really wanted to focus on Anna and Tom becoming friends and showing off their knowledge. I did love this battle with Heracross, because it really shows how Pokemon battle will evolve from here on out.<p> 


	32. Chapter 32: True Strength

Chapter 32: True Strength

Anna and Tom continue down the road and come across Tia near the entrance of Violet City. She is holding her Cyndaquil tightly. Tom notices immediately how beat up it is.

"What happened here?" Tom's a little surprised to see the only other person was a kid about ten years old.

"He beat me…" She says defeated and looking a little scared. "His Pokémon is a monster." She warns Tom while looking over at her opponent who is grinning victoriously.

"Oh really now? I think I'd like to see this _monster_ of a Pokémon for myself." Tom sports a sadistic grin and reaches for a Pokeball.

"So you want to challenge me too? Fine, you're funeral. I'll show up what you're up against, then you can decide to run." The cocky brat talks like he's already won. "Go Hydreigon!" He calls out his massive three headed Dragon type.

Tom is actually a little surprised a kid like him could control that powerful of a Pokémon. He looks closer and notices one of Hydreigon's heads is glaring at the trainer. "I see, then I'll show you my Pokémon: Elekid!" He calls out his small Electric type.

The kid laughs, "That tiny thing? Hydreigon could step on it and not even notice. Hit it with a Dragon Pulse." The pompous kid orders the Hydreigon without giving Tom much mind.

The Hydreigon snorts and swoops in towards Elekid to release a mighty burst of energy from its mouth. Elekid easily dodges it showing just how fast it truly is.

"Good work Elekid, use Ice Punch." Tom orders calmly, but with a devious grin on his face. Elekid does just that. Running underneath Hydreigon and punching it right in the stomach. The massive dragon flails in pain and anger.

"Hydreigon use Dragon Rush!" The kid orders once more, but this time a little more brashly. Hydreigon scowls at him and proceeds to bite at Elekid. "Hydreigon what are you doing?" Every bite is missing with its three heads occasionally butting skulls.

"Just as I thought, that's not your Hydreigon is it?" Tom speaks up coldly.

"What are you talking about? Of course it's mine!" The brat pretends to be insulted, but looking really worried as the Pokémon refuses to listen.

"Then why isn't it listening to you? Before when you had it use Dragon Pulse it actually used Dragonbreath. Now Hydreigon is trying to use Bite. Plus, that Pokemon of yours has been shooting you dirty looks this whole time. So spill it." Tom is tired of the boy's trickery.

The kid balls his fist. "Fine, it's my brother's Hydreigon." He admits.

"Why am I not surprised? Elekid finish it with Brick Break." Tom is absolutely uninterested by this battle anymore. With that Elekid jumps up and bashes it on the center head and knocks it out cold.

The kid is amazed by the powerful display. "I can't believe that Elekid beat Hydreigon so easily. Brother's going to be mad at me." He slumps down and calls it back to the ball. Tom walks up and looks down on the kid menacingly. "Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" He begs.

"Do you have a Pokémon of your own?" Tom asks much more softly.

The kid nods, "It's not very good though." He calls it out. A small bug looking Ground type emerges and opens its large mouth showing off its sharp teeth.

"A Trapinch," Tom's expression gives off a faint nostalgic smile. He bends down and pets it. "Trapinch is a very good Pokémon. It's great with Arena Trap, a powerful attack, and evolves into a very powerful Dragon type." He stands up again. "Come on out Flygon." He calls out his own mighty Dragon type. Flygon majestically flies through the air before landing.

"Wow that's amazing!" The kid is awestruck.

"He is the first Pokémon I ever caught and we fought together ever since. We've won and lost so many battles together. Your Trapinch is uniquely your own and he will stand by you. You two will get stronger together, trust me." Tom recalls his Pokémon and hold Cleffa close to his chest. "You don't need to rush," he pats the kid on the shoulder. "Come on girls, we've got a city to check out." Tia and Anna follow close behind Tom.

The three step into town and the first thing Tia does is head to the center with Anna close behind her. Tom decides to take his time and head to the gym. To no real surprise it was open, but no one was in there other than Falkner.

Tom walks up behind the gym leader who is training his Flying type with elaborate series of hoops and aerial maneuvers. "Great job Pidgeotto, now let's see if we can improve your time." His Pokémon fly around with grace and finesse like a well-oiled machine.

"Taken a page from Skyla's book?" Tom jokes and instantly gets his attention.

"Hey man," he walks up and give Tom a firm hand shake and pat on the back. "You got here sooner than I thought you would. How have you been?" He asks with a warm grin.

"I've been good, I see you've been training." He looks up and all the Flying types in wonder at their aerial maneuverability.

"You know it, and you're right. I had a battle with Skyla a little while back and man is she strong." He laughs.

"You're telling me. One of Unova's finest. All the gym leader are pretty tough." Even Tom had to admit that Unova gave him a run for his money.

"So where's this trainer that wanted to face me?" He looks around the empty gym.

"She's at the Pokémon Center right now. I'll introduce you." He leads him out of the gym and down the road. "I'll warn you though, she's a hyper one." To Tom this is a bit of an understatement.

Falkner rubs his head, "Tom, come on man, I've had about enough of hyperactive trainers. Everyone thinks they can just walk in and beat me." The all too common issue with being the first official gym leader in their league.

"Hey this is also the girl who beat the Kanto League and took down Giovanni." He smirks. "That help her case."

Falkner smirks, "That's better," his smirk turns to a frown though. "That's also something we need to talk about too."

"We'll worry about that later." Tom brushes it off. The two walk into the center with Tom taking the lead. "Hey Tia, how are your Pokémon looking." He calls to her while she's at the counter.

Tia and Anna see Tom and his company. "That's Falkner behind Tom," Anna whispers to Tia. The two girls can't help but stare at the rather handsome guy with Tom.

"Falkner? Whoever he is he's pretty good looking." Tia checks him out with a slight smile.

"He's the gym leader." Anna tells her. All the while checking him out herself.

"Really now, wonder if all of Johto's gym leaders are as good looking as he is?" She saunters over to him and extends out a hand. "Hi there, my name's Tia." She says with a calm, cool smile.

"Nice, to meet you Tia." Falkner greets her with his usual suave tone. "So I take it you're my opponent. I look forward to our match." He flaunts that perfect smile of his.

Anna walks up too, "It's a pleasure to meet you Falkner, I've heard all about you. My name's Anna." She plays it just as smooth.

"Lovely to meet you both." He grins. The two girls exchange glances as if silently telling the other to back off.

"So how's your girlfriend doing Falkner?" Tom in one fell swoop crushes both their dreams. He tries his hardest not to laugh.

"Oh Winona is doing great." He happily reports. "Unlike me, she's been really busy with her gym." He is on one hand happy to see she's busy and happy to battle, but at the same time that means a lot less time together. The same burden any gym leaders would face.

"Wait gym leaders can date other gym leaders?" Tia was surprised by this fact.

"Well yeah, not like we took a vow of celibacy." He laughs, "Anyone in the league can date whoever they want. Isn't that right Tom?" He winks and gives Tom a nudge. Sabrina is definitely a catch in most guy's eyes.

Though Tom is off in his own little world. "The Pokémon league does not acknowledge or condone any relationships romantic, sexual, or otherwise among its representative. The Pokémon league establishes and adheres to a strict code of conduct to set the best possible example for aspiring trainers and other league officials." He recites the bylaws word for word.

"Oh god this again." Falkner shakes his head.

"Is he going to be alright?" Tia can't help but be concerned as Tom looks like he just blew a fuse.

"Yeah, a fellow league member of mine just embarrassed him in front of everyone the other day so I guess he's reliving that issue." Falkner explains.

"Didn't know the league had such strict bylaws?" Anna points out.

"Well, it's most because they want leader's to be focused on their gyms. Plus, long distance relationships are hard." Falkner freely admits. "Anyway, I owe you a gym match don't I?" Falkner pats Tia on the shoulder and escorts her out.

Tom finally snaps out of his little world of rules and bylaws, "Gym leaders have a full range of equipment for training and battling. Gym leaders must not use gym equipment for recreational purposes otherwise said gym leader may be subject to fines." He takes a deep breath, "Okay, better now." He recovers from his episode.

"That was very informative Tom, but Tia and Falkner already left." Anna clarifies.

"Oh, well we should probably watch the battle." He tries to play it off cool.

"I had no idea that league had so many restriction." Anna was listening attentively to the ramblings of Tom.

"Yeah, but let's be honestly they rarely get brought up. My dad and I would always mess around with gym equipment when I was a kid." He smiles nostalgically.

"Wait, your dad's a gym leader?" Anna didn't know this little factoid about him.

Tom scratches his head, "Oh yeah, not many people know that I guess. He's the leader of the Pedalburg City gym, and the former leader of Goldenrod City's gym. He would always say with a legacy like that we were destined for greatness." Tom laughs. "Though I wasn't always so humble so I ate that up."

"I've met Norman, he's a great man. Honestly, that's why I have such an appreciation for Normal types like my Blissey." Anna is glad to know that Tom is just as respectable as his father.

"Hey, I'm glad to hear it, I always wanted to be like him, but I don't think I'd want to be a gym leader. Too restricting if you ask me." Tom is an adventurer and free spirit at heart, though he isn't against settling down with Sabrina in Saffron.

"I thought about wanting to be a gym leader, but I figured I wasn't qualified. Plus, I don't think I'd have the skills." Anna is quick to discredit herself.

Tom decides to reassure her a little, "The requirements of a gym leader aren't actually that difficult. You have to demonstrate exceptional skills as a trainer. Usually by means of beating at least one league and their champion. Were you able to beat Cynthia back in Sinnoh?" He asks knowing the proceeding well enough, since they harass him about it all the time. This is due to being a champion himself though, becoming a gym leader would be a considerable step down. Both is authority and pay.

"I was able to, but it wasn't in an official match unfortunately." She goes on to explain, "I had visited her villa and we had a friendly battle. Iris was with us too." She smiles warmly thinking about that cool, spring day in Undella Town.

"I'll never understand how that twerp got to be Champion, but whatever. So you have beat her and you have a witness. Hey next time a new leader needs to be chosen I could put a good word in for you." He winks and pat her on the shoulder.

Her face lights up, "You really mean it?" She grabs him by the hands. "Tom that would me the world to me! I mean right now my goal is to be a breeder, but a gym leader would be amazing!"

"Glad to see you're feeling more confident. Anyway, we've talked long enough, let's get to gym. Tia's probably got Durants in her pants waiting for us." Tom leads Anna to the gym where Tia and Falkner were just about to begin.

"Finally you two made it. I wanted you to see my victory first hand." Tia declares proudly. "Come on out Cyndaquil!" She cheers.

"Now don't get too cocky, I'm more than just a pretty face." He jokes and calls down his Pidgeotto that hung from the rafters. "My Flying types aren't anything to sneeze at either." Pidgeotto flies over head. Poised to fight the enemy Cyndaquil.

"Use Ember Cyndaquil!" Tia makes the first move. Her Fire type does just that and fires off into the air. Pidgeotto dodges with grace and finesse befitting a Flying type of a gym leader.

"Pidgeotto use Gust." Falkner says so casually. Pidgeotto flies over head and flaps its powerful wings down which knock Cyndaquil about. "Now Quick Attack."

"Cyndaquil match it with your own Quick Attack!" Tia formulates a plan of attack. The mighty flying type swoops down with great speed and Cyndaquil charges forward. The two are about to collide when Pidgeotto pulls up and quickly turns hitting Cyndaquil in the back.

Cyndaquil skids across the ground. "Your Pokémon's not nearly as fast as mine, sorry." He smirks, flashing that perfect smile of his. "Another Gust Pidgeotto." He points to his Pokémon who blows Cyndaquil against a wall with a thud.

"Cyndaquil get up!" Tia panics. The situation isn't looking good, he hasn't even landed a solid hit yet. Tom himself has a feeling that this battle is about over. Cyndaquil struggles to get up and by the time he is back on his feet Pidgeotto is already looming over head.

"Gust, just finish this now." Falkner doesn't really care at this point and overall he was extremely disappointed by this match. Pidgeotto finishes off Cyndaquil with easy by blasting a gust of wind in his face. "Nice try, come back when you've trained more." Falkner states disappointedly and begins walking off.

"Wait I still have a Pokémon." Tia calls back Cyndaquil and calls out Heracross. Tom and Anna both smack their foreheads knowing that taking the loss is probably her only real opposite and this would just be a waste of time.

Falkner's gaze narrows, "Is this a joke?" He snarls. "You have a huge disadvantage and can barely hurt my Flying types with that thing. Do you really think you can possibly win? Quit wasting my time. Get the hell out of my gym!" He shouts angrily.

Tia is left speechless. She calls back Heracross and slumps out refusing to look at anyone. Tom shakes his head.

"This is exactly what you wanted, wasn't it Tom? Someone to humble her?" Falkner looks over bitterly. "I'm not afraid to crush my opponent's will. That's what a good leader does to weak trainers." Falkner shows off some of his brutal honesty.

Tom shake his head, "You did exactly what you needed to," he looks at the door, "I just hope she learns her lesson soon."

"Wait, does this mean you expected her to lose?" Anna asks confused about this little deal they made.

"Exactly, that girl needs to learn patience one way or another. Falkner here was more than qualified to do that. It's part of the job." Tom is too happy it came to this, but that's the nature of the beast.

"You're sure one to preach about other's jobs." He says bitterly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He glares back at Falkner.

"I mean, all the rules and bylaws you broke to cover up the Kanto League issue. I saw the reports Tom. I have no idea how you did it, but you definitely took a very shady approach." Falkner was no stranger to the law and regulation. Especially the ins and outs of the league.

"I had to, otherwise the entire league would have been under suspension and all but three of them would have been thrown in jail." Tom justifies.

"I know, but still you had it so Lt. Surge would have to pay a majority of the fines for damage on the S.S. Anne when apparently he wasn't responsible for most of it. You showed blatant favoritism by getting Sabrina off completely scot-free even though she was responsible for mass damage to Silph Co. Headquarters. Finally Blaine, you somehow managed to make it look like he was a pawn and not actually aware of Team Rocket's action when we all know that's not true." Falkner berates him.

Tom walks up to him and stares him down. "I never said I was a good person, I did what I had too, and I got results." He growls. "I was just more concerned with annihilating Team Rocket." He says ruthlessly. He grits his teeth, "I called in a few favors I'm starting to regret so you can take satisfaction in that."

"There's a vicious side of you. No matter how much you've changed I still see the guy I've heard all the horror stories about." Falkner smirks and firmly grasps Tom's hand. "I want a real battle with you one of these days."

They both exchange a daunting look at one another, both refusing to let up. "I'd like that, our gym battle wasn't nearly satisfying enough." Tom whispers with a tone sharp as a knife.

Anna can't help feel uncomfortable by this display of malicious rivalry. She timidly runs out of the gym and to the center to find Tia.

"Well, looks like we scared her off." Falkner says much more lightheartedly. "Poor thing, I wouldn't mind battling her either."

"You just want to battle everyone don't you?" Tom laughs while patting him on the back. "I haven't actually seen her battle yet, but I'm sure she's experienced enough."

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review on this chapter and your thoughts of the series as a whole. So this was definitely one of the more pivotal chapters where now Tia is going to have to completely rethink her methodology as a trainer. We're also drawing closer to the second story in the Pokemon Sagas series. That is still a few weeks off though and I'll go into more detail when that becomes more relevant.<p> 


	33. Chapter 33: Back to Basics

Chapter 33: Back to Basics

Tia lays hopelessly on her bed in the Pokemon Center looking at her Pokeballs just trying to take in the defeat. She sighs and lays them on the table. She turns on her side and tries not to sob.

Anna walks in quietly. "Tia?" She speaks softly. "Are you awake?"

"Go away," Tia whines hoping for some privacy, "I just want to be alone."

Anna walks closer, "Tia come on; you can't let this get you down. You just need to train a little." Anna suggests and sits on the bed next to her.

"I did everything I could though. He's too strong for me." Tia implores. Falkner did a pretty good job of knocking the wind out of her sails.

"You need to learn to be patient, you know this. Practice this and you'll be able to beat him easily." Anna says warmly and confidently. "Look, I lost a lot in my day too. I kept trying."

"I guess you're right, but what am I going to do? It's not that easy for me. I'm impatient, it's who I am unfortunately. I can't just change myself overnight." Tia brings up a perfectly valid point.

"Then let me help," Anna suggests with a bright smile. "I have a full team so a little practice match will be fun." She takes Tia by the hand and pulls her up.

"I guess it couldn't hurt. I appreciate this Anna." Tia finally cracks a smile. The girl run out of the center and towards Route 32. Daylight is slipping fast, but they didn't care. Tia had a new determination to become stronger.

The two find a small clearing that seemed perfect for training. Anna let's Tia go and stands several feet opposite her. "This is perfect. So first thing's first, get Cyndaquil out here." She instructs Tia who does just that. "Okay, let's go Blissey." She sends out her own Pokémon. "Attack Blissey," Anna tells Tia with a strong stance.

"Okay? Cyndaquil use Ember on Blissey." She points to the big, pink Pokémon. Cyndaquil fires off its small embers.

Anna watches closely, "Blissey jump back" Her Pokémon happily complies. The embers fall to the ground and scatter, but Blissey had gotten far enough back. "See what I did there? I saw Ember was going to obviously hit Blissey so I had her jump back enough to make sure the flames didn't spread and hit her." She explains like a teacher would her student.

Tia nods, "That makes sense," she ponders this in her head. It's not a matter of dodging it's when to dodge and how to dodge.

"Egg Bomb," Anna says while Tia is lost in thought. The egg goes flying through the air and lands right on Cyndaquil with a bang.

"Hey that's not fair, I wasn't paying attention." She pouts.

"Because that's a good excuse in a Pokémon battle. You have to still be fast on your feet. Lesson two, plan your strategy ahead of time; focus on the battle and that way you can plan accordingly. You've got a quick wit, you can do it. Egg Bomb." She says, this time Tia is prepared.

"Okay Cyndaquil dodge," Her Pokémon jumps to the left and watches the egg reach the height of the arc.

"Egg bomb," Anna points and commands her Blissey to throw another.

"Dodge," Cyndaquil had no choice but to dodge to the left again. Once Cyndaquil settled on a spot the first egg hits and misses. The second hits right on the mark. "What, how?" Tia is baffled.

Anna laughs, "You knew the first one was coming for Cyndaquil, but you dodge automatically instead of waiting. So I had the perfect chance to throw another one while the first was still mid throw. Plus, your dodging was predictable since you couldn't go right. I estimated where Cyndaquil would go." Anna smiles feeling great to battle again after a long while. "That's enough long range battling though. Let's try out a little close combat." She calls back Blissey and releases another Pokémon from its ball. "Zangoose," she says with a much more confident tone.

Tia is amazed, Anna is definitely not a pushover in battle. She see the Zangoose for the first time and is a little frightened by the grizzly expression on its face. "That's a tough looking Pokémon." Tia can't help feeling a little anxious.

Anna giggles, "Oh she's a sweetheart once you get to know her. Crush Claw," Anna orders with little break in her cheerful demeanor.

Tia thinking fast focuses on the right claw coming towards Cyndaquil. "Jump to the left and get ready to hit it with Ember." Tia ordered strategically.

Anna smiled, "Very good," Tia's Pokémon follows her orders to the letter. Unfortunately, the right claw missed, but the left claw has a perfect chance to strike. "That was a good strategy in theory, but Zangoose has two sets of claws, obviously. If you're going to dodge that close, you need to think about where you're having your Pokémon go. Escaping one attack and walking into another is not effective blocking." Anna lectures further. "Zangoose use Hone Claws." Zangoose's claws glow brightly. She strikes them against each other almost like sharpening blades. "Set up moves are also good for battles. Things like Hone Claws to increase speed and accuracy or Sunny Day to increase Fire type attacks."

"I know, I'm not a rookie!" She says defensively. "I know all this, I just didn't think much about how to properly dodge."

"All a part of being patient. That's enough for right now though." Anna pats Zangoose on the head who smiles and nuzzles against her cheek. She laughs, "See, told you she's a sweetheart." She sits down with her Zangoose.

Tia can't help but admire Anna. She doesn't talk about it much, but Tia can tell she's a strong trainer. Stronger than her anyway. This just give Tia a renewed vigor to become even stronger. She also has to admit that is quite a good teacher too. She would never have imagined she could learn so much about how to properly battle in just one evening. Anna is definitely more of a hands on teacher. Contrary to that, Tom's more trial by fire. Tia can't say for sure if Anna's close to Tom's level, but they are both powerful nonetheless. Two totally different styles of training and battling. Tia's starting to realize that she needs to find her own effective way to battle. Her own unique strategy that compliments her and her Pokemon. Most of all she needs to exercise patience.

"Come on, take a seat. We can talk more." Anna offers with a warm, inviting smile.

Tia is about to sit down when a Mareep hops out of the bush. "Hey that's a cute Pokémon." She checks it out on her Pokedex. "It's an Electric Type too. That gives me an idea." Tia grins and knows what she needs to do. She watches the Mareep carefully. "Cyndaquil hit it with an Ember." She commands.

Cyndaquil attacks and hits the unsuspecting Pokémon. It notices where the attack came from and growled. It fires of a Thundershock at Cyndaquil.

Tia closes her eyes for a second then snaps her fingers, "Cyndaquil charge forward with Quick Attack, but don't hit it!" She says very carefully. In a quick run Cyndaquil runs forward avoiding the attack and stares down Mareep who is stunned by this move. "Ember point blank!" She points forward with zeal. With one powerful attack Mareep is sent flying. "It's wild so that should be enough to weaken it." She tosses a Pokeball and connects with Mareep.

The ball shakes once, twice, three times, and locks with a ping sound. Tia cheers and runs up grabbing her new Pokémon. She calls out Mareep and embraces it. "Wow she's really soft." Tia smirks.

Anna is still staring, amazed by Tia creative use of Quick Attack and knowing not to hit because of the Static ability. "That was good battle Tia, I think you're really getting the hang of this." She walks up to her and claps.

"Thanks, but you know I have you to thank for teaching me." She smiles and sits down. Anna follows suit.

"All I did was give you so tips," she says modestly.

"But they helped so much, and I think I can beat Falkner with your advice." She smiles as moon shines, the sun has long since set while they trained. "I think we should get back soon."

Tia nods anxiously, "Yeah good idea. Plus, my Pokemon could use a healing." She jokes before calling back Cyndaquil. "I also want to know how you learned to battle like that."

Anna shrugs, "When you've been traveling as much as I have you just kind of pick these things up." Anna is at least humble, especially compared to Tom. She shares a few more anecdotes on their way back to the Pokemon Center.

"That's all so interesting Anna. You'll have to tell me more, but I want to heal my Pokemon. That and get to know my new Mareep." Tia is giddy as can be as she can be. She skips over to Nurse Joy while Anna heads up stairs.

Anna climbs the stairs and notices their door is slightly cracked and the light was on. She figures Tom is probably just inside reading. She walks up to the door and hears his voice from inside.

Tom is facing towards an open window and wearing a very trouble look on his face. "No I don't have anything else to report." He groans as her speaks to his X-Transceiver.

"They say… they're moving over your… area." A distorted voice speaks with an odd pacing and broken up speaking.

"So why don't you and Brooke investigate?" Tom rolls his eyes not wanting any part of this plan he is currently being roped into.

"Agent… Beta is currently tied… up in other affairs." The mysterious voice explains.

"I know, let's talk about these stupid codenames." Tom snaps back.

"What's more… important are… the two legendary Pokemon running wild." The voice as jumbled as it is shows no sign of emotion one way or another.

"I already said I haven't seen any sightings of Zapdos or Moltres." Tom slams his fist against the wooden table. "How much long will I have to do this?" He grits his teeth.

"This is the price of… amnesty. You… came to us. We made… the Kanto incident… disappear." The voice clearly spells out that Tom used some very off the record deals to take care of the situation.

"Just leave the girls out of it and we'll be fine. Tia and Anna have no hand in this." Tom implores knowing that getting tied tired up in this puts the others around him in danger. "Who is trying to get the legends anyway? Remnants of Team Rocket?"

"Not to our knowledge. We believe… it's another organization." This does not put Tom at ease.

"I'm thinking it may be that Cipher group from Orre. The ones who Team Rocket hired to fight for them. I'd love to fight that Metagross again, but at the moment I'm busy." He turns towards the door and leans against the desk. He looks forward and notices Anna staring in through the crack in the door. "I'm going to have to call you back." He hangs up and walks towards the door.

Anna begins to step back and sheepishly run off.

"Don't move!" Tom shouts which practically paralyzes Anna. He opens the door and takes her by the arm. He pulls her in, but not forcefully. "What did you hear?" His voice is cold as ice with a piercing gaze.

Anna knows lying won't help her so she fesses up. "I heard about the cover up and about Moltres and Zapdos."

Tom sighs before letting her go. "I hope I can trust you won't tell anyone?"

Anna nods instantly, "Whatever is going on is not my business. But if you're putting yourself at risk then I will not stand by while a friend puts his life at risk." Anna says with a strong expression showing her determination.

Tom looks rather impressed. "There's a lot I can't tell you, but I appreciate it. Thank you, Anna. You're a good friend to us both." He lies down on his bed and gazes at the ceiling. "I've always confessed to not being a good person, but I did this to help those I care about. Was I wrong?" He lets his rhetorical question float into the silence.

"Only time will tell." This catches Tom's attention. Anna continues to speak. "So far you have down what was best for others while taking whatever abuse you're getting. I don't think that's something a bad person would do?" Anna cracks a smiles and takes a seat on her bed. "Something tells me tomorrow will be a long day. We should rest up." Anna sets her things down and waits for Tia before heading to bed.

Tom wishes he could talk about this, but he's in too deep now. He's now at the mercy of the very organization he is affiliated with. Though he's trying he can't escape his Mysterious Trainer X persona.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. The plot thickens. While Tia is slowly coming into her own as a trainer, which is really helping build a diverse cast of characters. All the while Tom is dealing with a mysterious group himself. There is a lot more to them you all will be learning in the future.<p> 


	34. Chapter 34: A Rematch to Remember

Chapter 34: A Rematch to Remember

Tom wakes up bright an early seeing Anna still sleeping soundly. He walks in to the other room with Cleffa's ball in hand.

"Good morning," he smiles cheerfully.

"Morning, I made breakfast." Tia chirps.

"Really now?" Tom's surprised. He knew she was a good cook, but that she got up early to make it.

"I wanted too, plus this is my way of saying thank you to Anna and you." She smiles. "We got fresh berry juice, Moo Moo Milk, toast and jam, eggs, sausages, and an assortment of berries." She cheerfully shows off the full spread.

Tom is awestruck, "Wow Tia, this is very impressive. You are going to be one hell of a wife someday." He smirks as her spreads jam on his toast.

"I'll do my best," she gives him a thumbs up.

He smiles warmly as he decides what to eat this morning, "You didn't need to do this."

Tia shakes her head, "Yes I did." Before the conversation can continue on Anna walks in. "Sleep well?" She asks sweetly.

"Yeah, it was very relaxing." She says contently. "This all looks great, but I need a shower first." She giggles and head to the bathroom.

"Wow this is good. I think you're trying to fatten us up." He says with a sneaky grin.

"Hardly, everything here is completely healthy and nutritional." She explains with a bright smile. "A balanced diet and keep you energized, because breakfast is the most important meal of the day." She sits down and begins eating herself.

"How have I never seen this side of you? I didn't know you were so health conscious." He's happy to see this more mature side of her.

"I guess because I keep telling myself not to rush right now I can stop and smell the Roselia." She jokes. "Not that I'm completely changed, I still want to get up and run to the gym, but I'm practice restraint." Even now Tia shows a twinge of agony.

Anna steps out of the bathroom looking relaxed and refreshed. She sits down to her breakfast. "This looks great, thanks Tia." She chirps and beings eating. "So when are you going to challenge Falkner again?" She asks the burning question.

"I figured once everyone's done eating we could head to the gym." She says peacefully. She continues to pace herself with her eating, though she wishes she could just inhale it like a Snorlax. She restrains herself though. Effectively too, she's feeling more relaxed and stress free.

"Well I'm ready whenever you are." Tom says finishing the last of his meal and feeding Cleffa. She anxiously eats her small Pokémon food with a smile making Tom smile widely.

"I'm ready too don't worry. I want to see you get that gym badge." Anna gives Tia a thumbs up. She grabs her bag and packs up. "Plus, the sooner you get the badge, the sooner we can move on."

The three collect their things and head out for the gym. Falkner is unsurprisingly free, but he looks to have a special guest with him in front of the gym. A young woman with a blue pilot's helmet that matched her clothes. As well as long flowing purple hair with two tuffs in the front that resembled wings. The two are lost in conversation.

The gang over hears the conversation as they get closer, "Yeah, I'll tell you what it's been so dull. No real challengers in weeks." Falkner gripes.

"Yes, you told me about your dry spell. That's why I thought while I have free time I might as well visit." She smiles and speaks elegantly. She notices the group approaching and smirks, "Well I think things about to get a lot more interesting dear."

Falkner notices Tia and the rest. "I sure hope so. So you're here for your rematch Tia?" He asks with a suave grin.

"You know it, and this time I'll be the one winning." She boasts. She notices the woman scanning her up and down. "Oh sorry, I didn't know you had a challenger already." Tia steps back.

She laughs, "Oh no, I am not a challenger. I was just visiting."

"Good to see you again Winona." Tom steps up and shakes her hand.

"Likewise, I'm actually surprised to see you here. Falkner didn't mention the champion was in town." She smiles coyly.

"Yeah, you know me, never really want to make a scene." Tom says modestly, but he knows that's not entirely true.

"Says the boy who stormed into my gym demanding a match." She giggles softly.

Tom blushes, "All in the past. I'm calmer and more laid back now." He boasts trying to act more mature.

"I believe you. Your father is very proud." She knowingly admits this due to acting as the representative for the Hoenn League.

Tia butts in, "So you're Falkner's girlfriend?" She asks impulsively.

Winona giggles again, "I am,"

"So you're a gym leader then?" She continues prying.

"I am, I run the Fortree City gym in Hoenn. I have a few days off so I thought I'd visit my boyfriend. So your name is Tia?" Winona has a certain air of maturity.

She nods happily, "I recently beat the Kanto League. Now I'm trying my hands at the Johto region." She brags with the same level of confidence as always.

"Wonderful, now I really want to know how this match will play out." She looks to Falkner. "Dear I say you take her challenge now, then we can grab lunch." She smiles.

"You sure?" Falkner asks considering how far Winona had to travel.

She nods, "I am, plus gym leader duties come first." She says with a smile. If anyone knew all the bylaws other than Tom it'd be her.

Everyone files into the gym as Tia and Falkner take the main stage. "Hope this time you put up more of a fight." He smirks and calls down his Pidgeotto.

"You don't need to worry about that. Cyndaquil!" She calls out her Pokémon, this time with a better strategy in mind. "Use Ember."

Falkner chuckles, "That again? Pidgeotto dodge it, then swoop down with a Gust." He instructs with a calculated response and idea of how Tia's going to react.

Much to his surprise Tia waited patiently as Pidgeotto got closer. She got the basic idea of where Pidgeotto was going to land and ordered Cyndaquil to charge forward. With perfect timing Cyndaquil ran right under Pidgeotto as it almost hit the ground. "Ember!" Tia shouts and her Pokémon complies hitting Pidgeotto's underside. The Pokémon struggles to bush off that attack. "Quick Attack!" Tia says while Pidgeotto struggles to recover. Cyndaquil was already close enough to hit before it could properly bounce back. With another brutal attack Pidgeotto was sent crashing to the ground.

Pidgeotto slowly raises and reads it's next command. Falkner smiles deviously, "Now this is getting interesting. Take to the skies and use Gust!" Falkner has the clear advantage from the skies, but less accuracy.

Tia takes advantage of this and orders Cyndaquil to dodge. The gusts of wind push Cyndaquil around a bit. Pidgeotto finally heads more towards the offensive and swoops down at high speeds with its glowing peak.

"Jump!" Tia shouts in perfect time with Falkner's assault. Cyndaquil hops over Pidgeotto and onto its back. "Ember!" Employing a similar strategy she used on Heracross Tia is able to beat Falkner's first Pokemon. Pidgeotto crashes to the ground before fainting.

Falkner was amazed. "Well, now that's the type of battle I was looking for. Pidgeotto return. Now, we can begin the fun part. Noctowl!" He calls out his final Pokémon to finish the job. The Pokémon swoops down with great speed and charges right at Cyndaquil.

Cyndaquil quickly jumps to the side and fires off another Ember. The attack grazes Noctowl, but doesn't seem to do much. Falkner's Pokémon turns on a dime and swoops down back at Cyndaquil.

"Man that things fast." Tia's surprised.

"Air Slash!" Falkner instructs. Suddenly Noctowl's wings glow as it picks up speed. Cyndaquil dodges, but the air around the wings slice at Cyndaquil like blades. Cyndaquil takes a heavy hit and struggles to its feet. Falkner uses this chance to hit Cyndaquil while it's still down.

Cyndaquil is finally knocked out, but Tia was prepared for this. "Okay, you did great Cyndaquil, but now I'll let you rest. Go Mareep!" She declares sending out her newest Pokémon. Falkner looks a little surprised. Now she has the tactical advantage. Falkner doesn't get discouraged though. Noctowl prepares another Air Slash and charges right at Mareep. Tia smiles, "Mareep," she pauses, "Jump!" She orders. In that instances Mareep leaps high in the air and with perfect timing lands on top of Noctowl. "Now, hold on tight and use Thundershock!"

"Not this time!" Falkner orders his Noctowl to fly low and turn on its back. It quickly scraps Mareep off its back, but the damage has been done. Mareep is pretty bruised up, but Noctowl struggles to keep itself in the air and slowly ascends. A sharp jolt hits Noctowl, "What's going on?" Falkner looks up at his ailing Pokemon.

"Static. Noctowl came in contact with Mareep and is now paralyzed." She looks up and snaps her fingers. Mareep on cue uses Thundershock once more before Noctowl collapses to the ground.

Falkner stares for a couple second and lets out a calm chuckle. "Well you certainly earned this win." He concedes. "That was the kind of battle I've wanted to have a long time now." He calls back his Noctowl and walks up to Tia. "I'm honored to give you this: the Zephyr Badge. Proof you have beaten the Violet City gym." He proudly declares Tia the victor.

Tia jumps for joy grabbing her Mareep. She calls it back and grabs the badge. "Now I'm officially competing in the Johto League." She brags. Tom and Anna both quickly join her.

"Tia that was amazing, what you did with Cyndaquil and Mareep was awesome!" Anna cheers.

"I will admit that was quite impressive." Winona walks up to her. "I'll be keeping an eye on you." She smiles coyly and walks over to her boyfriend. "You both put on a great show." She smiles and takes Falkner's hand.

"We won't keep you," Tom speaks up, "Besides we need to get going anyway." Anna and Tia both nod and head out.

Tia looks up to the sky with her gym badge shining in the light. "One down, seven more to go. Where to next?" She asks.

"Azalea to the South," Anna informs her. "Home of the Slowpoke Well and the next gym." She says looking at a small guidebook.

"Oh perfect, you two can try Slowpoke Tail." Tom says happily.

"People eat Slowpoke Tail? Isn't that inhumane?" Tia asks awkwardly.

Tom shakes his head, "No, Slowpoke by their very nature don't feel pain in their tail, plus it grows back after a while. So it's perfectly humane and the sap the tail lets out is delicious." He explains with his usual toothy grin.

"Well, let's get going then, but the Pokémon Center comes first." Tia says walking to the door. She quickly heals her Pokémon and they head out on their way to their next destination.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. I will get this out of the way now. There will be no Tia's Tales next week. That is because next week will be the first chapter of "Pokemon Sagas: Wind Beneath My Wings". It is three chapters long story and will be biweekly as well as Tia's Tales. The release will still remain the same time: Wednesdays, 9:00 A.M. EST.<p> 


	35. Chapter 35: Caved In

Chapter 35: Caved In

The three young adventurers having made their way south of Violet City after Tia claimed her first Johto League gym badge are now posed with a new challenge ahead.

"Isn't there a way we could just go around it?" Tia whines.

"It's the Union Cave. What's the big deal?" Tom asks her confused by her sudden disliking of caves.

"Bad things always happen in caves." She tells him oh so matter-of-factly.

Tom rolls his eyes, "And where did you get this statistic from?"

"Remember Mt. Moon? Team Rocket invaded and we had to fight them off all alone." She points out, remembering that was also the first time she'd seen Tom as Mysterious Trainer X.

Anna speaks up to hopefully alleviate some of Tia's paranoia. "I've been through plenty of caves in my time and not once have I had some kind of freak accident. Trust me, after eight years I know."

"See?" Tom looks confident in Anna's stance, but something caught his attention. "Wait, you're eighteen?" Tom stares in shock.

"Yeah, it's kind of frustrating when everyone thinks I look sixteen." She explains which further flustering Tom.

"So you're older than me?" It seems to take Tom a second to process this.

"What's the big deal? I turned seventeen before leaving for Johto." Tia doesn't seem to surprised that Anna is older than she looks and isn't self-conscious if her own age either.

"What, you're older than me too?" Tom looks on in dismay as he realizes he's the youngest one in the group. "I refuse to accept this!"

"Not much you can do about it." Tia then gives him a cheesy smile and pinches his cheek. "You're the baby of the group." Tia teases.

He smacks her hand away and pouts, "I'm not a baby! I am mature and responsible." He crosses his arms defiantly.

"Aw, someone need a nap?" Tia says with a condescending look.

"I don't take naps!" He shouts back.

"Someone's having a temper tantrum. I bet you need your bottle." Tia just continues to poke the bear. Though Anna's starting to think this might not end well.

"Tia maybe you stop teasing him. I mean he definitely doesn't like being talk down to." She whispers in her ear while Tom glares.

"Oh come on when do I ever get the chance to rattle his cage?" She smirks.

Tom starts getting antsier trying to control himself. Tia begins to open her mouth, "Tia, one more joke about my age and I swear to god!" He groans in a fit of anger.

She raises her hands defensively, "Fine, fine let's go then." She surrenders. She takes her first steps into Union Cave.

Tom and Anna step in close behind and look around the dark, stank tunnels. "Well, we're in. Was that so hard?" He asks obnoxiously.

Tia ignores him and continues walking. The paths are filled with the usual fair of Zubat and Geodude minding their own business. The three cautiously continue forward doing their best to avoid any rocks that would cause them to have a very unpleasant meeting with the cave floor. Out of nowhere the cave begins to shake and bits of the ceiling start to crumble.

"What's going on?" Anna is immediately alarmed as she dodges small fragments of falling rock. All of a sudden Onyx start charging past in a panicked rush, knocking boulders around and further unsettling the cave around them.

"Oh no," Tom notice loose rocks above them. "Anna watch out!" He leaps forward and dives, grabbing her and tackling her to the ground before the rocks fall on her.

Tia on the other end of the fall runs forward to avoid the cave in and once the dust settles reveals she'd been completely caved in with no sign of Tom or Anna.

On the other end of the newly formed wall was Tom and Anna still dazed and on the ground. Anna shakes her head trying to collect her thoughts and sees Tom on top of her. "Oh my god, Tom, you saved my life!"

He smirks, "Of course," he then cringes seeing his leg caught under a loose rock. Anna scrambles to move the sizable piece of earth. Tom begins walking until her grits his teeth and lets out a repressed growl. "I don't think it's broken, but the rocks definitely jacked it up pretty good." The pain is intense as he moves his leg, but he can tell it's still in one piece.

Anna quickly takes off his shoe and looks at the wound. The bruising was pretty apparent so she reaches into her bag and grabs some bandages and quickly wraps his ankle tightly. "It's a temporary fix, but it should help a little. At least until we get out of here." She says diligently.

Tom looks a little surprised. "Thanks Anna, I'd probably be screwed right now if it weren't for you." He laughs. She reaches under his arms and helps lift him. He limps in tandem with her down an off shoot tunnel. "We need to find Tia." He cautions.

Tia herself was relatively unscathed, but definitely lost due to all the various caved in paths. She groans turning down another dead end. "Nothing bad ever happens in caves, he says. Let's go inside the cave, he says!" She grumbles. She quickly calls out her Cyndaquil. "Cyndaquil I need your fire to light the path." She then calls out Heracross, "Heracross, I need you to fly on ahead and scout out exits. Make sure to keep an eye out for Tom and Anna." She emphasizes. She sighs trying to keep her mind busy so the impending sense of dread doesn't set in too quickly. This certainly isn't helping Tia's paranoia, but freaking out now will only cause more issues for her.

Back with Anna and Tom, they manage to stay relatively calm, "Don't panic, we'll find a way out of here." Tom takes a deep breath to stay calm and avoids any use of his foot.

"Do you have any Pokémon that could get us out of here?" Anna asks worried about running into more dead ends and being trapped.

Tom mulls it over in his head, "None on me. Cleffa, Elekid, Arcanine, Flygon, Luxray, and Lucario won't be any use to us here." He feels like an idiot for not being more prepared. The two continue slowly onward until a second series of rumblings begins. "Oh no," he looks up. "Incoming!" The two try to run as fast as they can, but it was all around them.

Anna panics and a Pokeball of her belt opens of its own accord. The two had expected to be crushed by the rocks, but instead a tall shadow loomed over them. A series of beeps catch their attention.

Tom looks up awestruck. "No way, R…Regigigas!" Tom is absolutely speechless looking up at the legendary titan in person. "Anna, how and where did you catch a legendary Pokémon?" He asks urgently.

She sighs, "I didn't want anyone to know," she looks up at the golem and smiles nostalgically. "He's my guardian." This makes Tom all the more confused.

She goes on to explain. "When I was a little girl growing up in Snowpoint my sister and I would always play near the temple. One day Candice dared me to go in there; foolishly I did. It wasn't anything too special so I kept walking until I slipped and fell down a chasm in the temple. I woke up on the very bottom. I was freezing so I kept walking hoping to find my way out. What I didn't expect to find was this sleeping giant. All I did was touch his arm and instantly Regigigas came to life. He looked down on me and picked me up. Even though he was down there for god knows how long he was still warm and he protected me from the cold. He carefully escorted me out of the temple where everyone in town had gathered. People were awestruck that he'd finally awaken. I was just grateful he saved me. He set me down and I thanked him, but he continued to stare at me. So I ask him, 'do you want to be my Pokémon?' He stood there and I extended out my hand with a Pokeball. To my complete amazement, as well as everyone else's, he stretched out his hand and pressed the button allowing himself to be captured. That's why he's my guardian."

Tom is still in shock by her story. He remembers his Rayquaza being far less welcoming. "I never thought I'd see the day that a legend would just pop up right in front of my face." He's humbled by this experience. "I want a battle one of these days." He smirks.

Anna smiles back, "Sure, but first we need to grab Tia and get out of here." Regigigas lifts them both on its shoulders and proceeds to plow through all the rocks, carving its own tunnel out.

Tia continues along through the tunnels as hopeless at it might seem to her at this point. Heracross returns failing to find a way out, further worrying Tia. More tremors arise as thankfully it was only an Onyx plowing through rocks.

Tia suddenly gets an idea. "I know, Heracross use Brick Brick!" she instructs her Pokémon who wastes no time wailing on the Onyx. The Onyx taken aback by the sudden assault and charges forward. "Heracross grab it by the horn." She orders. Heracross flies up and grabs onto the irate Onyx and it tries to shake it off. During the struggle Tia jumps on its back as Onyx dives forward. Tia climbs up the head and grabs the horn using it to direct Onyx as it turned through the cave. Before long she sees an open cavern with a light at the end of the tunnel. Tia guides the Onyx out of the cave and into the light.

She jumps off on the Onyx and cheers, "We did it!"

Suddenly next to the entrance a giant golem of a Pokémon bursts out. "Okay we found a way out!" Anna cheers.

Tia looks over in amazement. "What Pokémon is that?" She asks not too familiar with the legendary Pokémon in front of her.

Tom looks over, "Oh hey it's Tia. Did you ride that Onyx over there?" He laughs. The Onyx grumbles and slithers away not wanting to deal with the young trainer anymore.

"Yeah, but more importantly what is that Pokémon?" She asks.

Regigigas lets the trainers down gently and Anna returns him to the ball. "That's Regigigas, he's the first Pokémon I ever caught." She says beaming with pride. She walks over helps support Tom.

"I've never heard of Regigigas before?" Tia says more confused than before.

Tom explains, "Regigigas is a legendary Pokémon like my Rayquaza or Sabrina's Meloetta."

Tia looks baffled, "Anna, I never knew you had a legendary Pokémon." She makes no attempt to hide her complete amazement.

"That was kind of the plan, I didn't want people to know, since that'd make me a walking target." Anna walks over to Tom and helps keep him on his feet. "Now we need to get Tom to the Pokémon center."

Tia gasps, "That's right, we happened to your leg?"

He brushes it off, "It's fine, just got stuck between a rock and hard place when the rocks came down." He puts up the tough guy routine.

"That's horrible, is it broken?" Tia panics.

"I don't know, frankly I just want to fix it up before it gets worse." He says as he limps along to Azalea Town. As he is limping along his looks at his X-transceiver that managed to reestablish its connection. A single message reads: Zapdos and Moltres are causing problems outside of Violet City. Tom immediately assumes that the cave in was no natural occurrence.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with you thoughts this chapter and the series as a whole. Your feedback is always appreciated. So we discover yet another trainer with a legendary Pokemon. And if anyone is wondering, yes the cave phobia will be a running gag from now on as well. I just saw way too many potential jokes I could get out of it so I had to address this.<p> 


	36. Chapter 36: The Return

Chapter 36: The Return

"Well thankfully nothing was broken, but don't be too surprised if you limp for a couple days. Also, swelling is probably going to occur as well." The nurse informs Tom.

"Thank you, Rose, I swear that aloe works miracles." Tom gives her a goofy grin.

"You're welcome Tom," she matches his grin with a cheerful smile. "Now I hope I don't have to see you like this again." She says with a joking sternness.

"Let's go you big baby," Tia smirks.

"Take care," Nurse Rose gives him an alluring smile as they walk off.

The trio step outside and immediately Anna calls him out, "Okay, so what was that about?" She glances suspiciously.

"I have no idea what you're talking about?" Tom instantly jumps on the defense.

"I knew it," Anna calls him out.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Tia asks in total confusion.

"Fine, I might have met her before," he says nervously.

"Might have?" Anna pries further.

"Okay fine, before I started dating Sabrina there way have been a few girls before her and Rose might have been one of them. It was harmless and only lasted a couple weeks." He explains trying not to blush.

"Tom, you sly devil." Anna pokes fun.

"Oh my god, I have more important things to deal with than Tom stupid love life. I got my fill of that in Kanto. Can we please just head to the gym?" Tia gripes.

"Not until we get a Slowpoke's Tail." Tom stands firmly. "You'll like it."

"It's just empty calories and sugar from what this guide book says." She points at a book she'd picked up in the center.

"Come on, one won't kill you," he tries to butter her up to little success. Tia pouts and walks off to the gym while Tom tries to further convince her. "Just let me do this one thing and you can choose what we do in Goldenrod City." He continues begging like a little child.

They stop in front of the door. "Seriously?" She sighs, "Fine if it'll get you to shut up!" She stomps off.

"Wait that worked?" Tom looks over at the door that sported a large closed sign on it. "That makes more sense." He catches up to her as they make their way to the Slowpoke Well.

Tia walks up to a man with a stall of Slowpoke Tails. "Three Slowpoke Tails please."

"That'll be a million from each of you." He says with a sinister smile.

"A million? That's insane! Tom why would you pay that?" Tia complains.

"Now wait a second, what are you trying to pull here?" He looks at him with an equally menacing look.

"Listen kid, times are tough. Take it or leave it." He barks back.

He sets Cleffa on the table, "You're going to tell me what kind of game you're playing or Cleffa here's going to have to use Self Destruct." Tom threatens.

"You're bluffing," the salesman suddenly feels a lot less cocky.

"Try me," Tom smirks with an evil glint in his eyes.

"My boss made me do it I swear. He's down in the well! Just please don't hurt me!" He begs for his life.

"That's more like it." He walks past, "By the way, Cleffa's don't learn Self Destruct, idiot." He rolls his eyes and Tia sticks out her tongue. They make their way down the well and spot a familiar face at the bottom.

"You better let me through if you know what's good for you." The voice growls.

"Listen kid go home, this is a place for grown-ups." Another voice taunts.

Tia and Anna get a glimpse of the kid and realize it's Silver and beside him was a man in a black uniform and an obscured, red symbol on his chest.

"Silver, what are you doing here?" Tia runs up to see what the situation is.

He looks back, "Go away, I don't have time to waste with you." He says brutally and starts glaring back at the man. "Let me in or I swear you'll pay for this; you and your whole team." He snarls.

Tom looks at the man and stares in complete shock, "What are you doing here?" Tom snaps at the man with a booming, angry voice. Tia and Anna both jump; even Silver seems a little unnerved by Tom violent reaction. "Why are there Team Rocket grunts in Johto?" He yells giving off a deadly aura.

The grunt panics, "Please don't hurt me!" He cries. "It's my boss's order I'm just some nobody." He pleads.

Silver's eyes widen, "Giovanni ordered this?" They're all taken by surprise by this.

The grunt shakes his head violently. "No, the boss is on the run right now. My boss: Proton. He gave us the orders. He's one of Team Rocket's Executives." He explains.

Tom glares at him, "You're telling me there are others in charge besides the Three Beasts." A group Tom knows personally and also knows doesn't exist anymore, but none of them ever mentioned executives.

"After the Three Beasts were beaten they took over behind the scenes." The frighten grunt goes on to explain with a quivering voice.

Tom lets the grunt go as he runs off in terror and climbs the later out of the well. "We're going in there, but first I need to make a call." Tom hops on his X-Transceiver.

Sabrina's face appears on screen, "Hello dear, what's the surprise call about?" Sabrina addresses him sweetly not really registering Tom's grim expression at first.

"Sabrina, what do you know about a man named Proton?" He asks seriously.

Sabrina frowns, "He was a grunt pretty much right beneath Surge, Koga, and me. He were thinking of making a power play for more authority in Rocket, but that fell apart when you and Tia dismantled the organization." She explains feeling uncomfortable for digging up that part of her life. "Why are you asking Tom?" She asks suspiciously.

Tom takes a deep sigh, "As I feared: Team Rocket's still strong in Johto. They've invaded the Slowpoke Well."

Sabrina's face turned to pure horror. "No, how?" She cannot believe it. "Tom, please be careful. Proton was strong, way stronger than any grunt." She cautions.

"Don't worry about me. I love you." He says solemnly.

"I love you too, call me once everything is safe and taken care of." Sabrina hangs up.

"Tom we have to get in there now," Tia pushes the matter.

Tom nods and reaches into his bag. "Yeah, but please stay out of my way. I don't want you to have to see me." He grabs his Mysterious Trainer X mask and puts it on. "I'm going in first and taking down Proton." He clarifies with his distorted voice.

"No, I'm taking down Proton!" Silver shouts. Tom shots him a malicious stare with his single sharp eye. Silver stands his ground, but Tom could sense his fear.

"No, you'll help clear out the grunts." Tom orders and walks in.

The four enter the cave with their Pokémon ready to fight. Tia calls out her Cyndaquil, Tom his Elekid, Anna with Blissey, and Silver sporting a Spinarak. Tom leads the pack with his Elekid punching through everything in its way. Tia broke off from the crowd with Silver, flanking more grunts with their Pokémon. Anna herself found herself making quick work of the grunts with well-placed Egg Bombs and Double-Edge. She very quickly is surrounded though.

"Give up girly and we might go easy on you." One of the grunts speaks up trying to sound threatening me.

Anna looks around nervously, "Please, just leave me alone. I don't want you getting hurt by my guardian." She can feel Regigigas's Pokeball begin to shake.

"You don't seem to get the position you're in. You see, you're at _our_ mercy." He laughs.

Anna shakes her head, "I'm sorry," Instantly Regigigas bursts out and stares down all the grunts. Taking a moment to size up their Pokémon. "They're not worth it." Anna informs her massive Pokemon.

The grunts stare mortified at the colossal Pokémon. Most of the sensible ones ran for their lives, but a few brave fools stuck around only to be reward with their Pokémon getting knocked around by Regigigas's powerful punches.

On the other end of the cave Tia and Silver continue to fight off Rocket grunts. "I don't need your help." Silver growls as Spinarak lays into a bunch more grunts.

"Likewise, but we might as well fight together." Tia submits. "You might not be team player, but I don't like seeing people get hurt. Plus, I have a bit of a grudge with Team Rocket." Tia says with determination in her eyes.

"So do I. Trust me, you have no idea." Silver says just as determined.

"A few of their members almost killed me. What about you?" Tia scowls. Silver looks back surprised by her brutally honest response. "I didn't think so."

He smirks, "So if I want to beat Team Rocket you're the one I'd have to beat first to prove myself." He says.

"What are you trying to prove?" Tia asks confused.

"That I'm the best, and I will be the one to destroy Rocket once and for all." He shouts as Spinarak continues to down Pokémon left and right.

"Why do you hate Rocket so much? I mean I understand, but why the personal vendetta?" Tia is really curiously now.

"Team Rocket took my father from me." Silver spits and tries not to let his anger get the better of him. "All that was left was me and my dying mother. Those bastards will pay!" Silver's voice echoes throughout the well and charges forward.

"Silver…" Tia somberly watches him run off and chases after him. "Listen, I might not have had to deal with that, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't fight together." She implores.

The two stop and spot a man fleeing and trying to avoid attention. "You there, stop!" Silver calls him out.

The man smirks, "So you found me huh? Well, prepare to lose kids. Go Zubat!" The man calls out a Pokémon and immediately attacks. "Wing Attack!" He shouts.

Silver instinctively has Spinarak dodge, but he underestimates Zubat's maneuverability and takes a serious hit on the fly back. Unfortunately, Spinarak was already weak from the previous fights.

Tia steps forward, "Silver let me handle this." Tia decides to take the battle into her own hands.

"Like hell, I can still fight with Totodile!" He grabs his Pokeball.

"No, you're angry and not thinking straight. Plus, I don't think you could handle Proton on your own." Tia gently puts her hand on his that held Totodile's Pokeball.

He laughs, "Clever girl, how'd ya know it was me?" He says with a cheeky grin.

"Well if my entire plans went up in flames the first thing I'd do is sneak out. Plus, you're the only remotely competent trainer in this cave wearing a Team Rocket uniform." She says with a smug look on her face. She calls back her Cyndaquil and calls out her Mareep.

"I'm flattered ya think so highly of me," his biting sarcastically is not so subtle, "but you're gonna have to move before ya get hurt girl." He orders his Zubat to attack once more.

The Zubat hits Mareep in the side using one of its wings with great speed. "You're not too smart are you. I guess I gave you too much credit." She says pretending to be disappointed. "Mareep use Thundershock!"

Proton laughs, "I'm not smart? Zubat can dodge that attack with ease." He quickly eats those words when his Zubat seizes up midflight and gets hit with bolt of lightning. "What the hell?"

Tia laughs, "Mareep has Static for an ability. All you had to do was touch her and instant paralysis." Tia mocks him. "Okay Mareep end it!" With that Mareep unleashed one final blow knocking out Zubat.

"Dammit, go Koffing." His next Pokemon enters and spews out clouds of Smog all around. The toxic air fills the cave prompting Tia and Silver to cover their faces from the poison.

"He's trying to smoke us out and blind us. Mareep don't let it get to you. Thundershock!" She orders blindly. Unfortunately, Koffing can see you fine and begins its assault on Mareep. Mareep tries to brace itself, but was proving useless with all the smoke in the air. Mareep shout and begins to glow. Seconds later an even more powerful bolt of electricity hits Koffing. As the smoke clears Tia spots her Mareep standing on its hind legs, but it was no longer blue, but pink. She checks her Pokedex. "No way, Mareep evolved into Flaaffy in the middle of the battle!" She cheered.

"This can't be happening." Proton says in complete shock and both of his Pokémon were now out of commission. He quickly makes a run for it, but it cut off when someone grabs him by the collar.

That someone is a very pissed off Tom of course. "You're not going anywhere." He says behind his mask. "Tell me what's going on right now." He demands.

Proton laughs, "We're the executives ya know? I was the one who replaced that tramp who betrayed us." He says callously.

"That _tramp_ is my girlfriend." Tom slams him against the wall. "Where are the other executives?" He demands.

Proton keeps his cool, "Like I'd tell ya anything. Do your worst, I ain't gonna squeal." He laughs maniacally. "Say hi to my trump card." A Pokeball falls out of his sleeve and opens up. An Abra appears and just as quickly vanishes with Proton.

"That son of a-!" Tom punches the wall.

"Tom calm down, we'll get him next time. What's important is that we stopped them for now." Tia interrupts him optimistically at least.

He takes off his mask exposing his hate filled expression. "I wanted to take him down. Not just stop his plan temporarily."

Tia turns away, "Please Tom, calm down." She speaks gently and timidly.

"I will not calm down!" His shouting makes her tremble more than all the Team Rocket grunts could.

Silver steps between them and stares down Tom as if he was protecting Tia. He says nothing as they lock in silent game of attrition. Tom finally lets out an exasperated breath and walks away.

"Thank you, Silver." Even though he didn't say it she knew he was standing up for her.

He starts walking off, "The next time we meet it'll be in battle. I won't lose either." He says as determined as ever.

Tia smiles, "I look forward to it, and don't worry I won't either." She declares.

Silver turns around with a very faint smiles before walking off. Tia watches her new rival walk off as Anna comes running up behind. "Tia we gotta get out of here."

Tia nods, "Right, I'm sure Jenny will want to hear about all this herself." Tia walks off with Anna towards the entrance of the well.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the story as a whole. Team Rocket's back, big surprise. What's important is that I am able to flesh out Silver a bit more. Silver is no longer this two dimensional asshole from the games, but a much more deep character. Also, this is one of the few instances so far where Tom loses his cool. I hope he seems sufficiently frightening.<p> 


	37. Halloween Special

Pokémon Sagas: Tia's Tale

Halloween Special

It is a cool and calm afternoon as Tia, Tom, and Anna make their way out of Rock Tunnel and head towards Lavender Town. There is an almost daunting presence in the air and Tia seems most perplexed.

She observes the locale and scratches her head quizzically. "Wait, why are we in Lavender Town?" Her confused alerts the rest of her group.

"What do you mean Tia? This is the next city on our destination?" Anna says as if Tia has lost all sense of direction.

"What do you mean? We're supposed to be in Johto right now? Why are we back in Kanto?" Tia's mental state appears to be slipping as she rants and raves about a region they so clearly are not in. "My mental state is fine!" Tia shouts up into the air like a mad woman.

"Tia do you need to rest?" Tom puts a hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

She swats his hand away angrily "I'm fine, the story is all wrong!" Tia begins to spout off nonsense about her life being some fixed narrative or a work of fiction. "This narrator is really starting to piss me off. We're supposed to be in Azalea Town!" Now that's just not nice Tia. "Oh my god, now he's talking to me directly. I can't be the only one hearing this."

Tom shakes his head, "Quit breaking the fourth wall and continue on with the story." Tom begrudgingly admits as he continues down the road with Anna.

"Fine," Tia finally submits and continues the hell on with the plot. "There's a hole is all." Tia is clearly not a fan of holiday specials. She continues down the road to the eerily silent town of Lavender where few residence lived and a large, looming tower of a graveyard resides. A slight overcast blankets the sky over the city that seemingly comes from nowhere.

"I'm getting a pretty creepy vibe from this place." Tom's legs begin to quiver as his empathy kicks in. Almost as if a wave of fear and anxiety passes through the air. "I think coming to Lavender Town wasn't a great idea." Tom seems to have an uncontrollable urge to look over his shoulder.

"Come on guys. Where's your sense of adventure?" Anna dismisses their worries and steps into town. Suddenly an ear piercing shriek rings throughout the entire town. Anna nearly jumps out of her own skin and immediately flees behind Tom. "On second thought, maybe we could just go around Lavender Town." She laughs nervously and she shields herself behind Tom

"Hello children, welcome to our humble town." A man with a soft smile walks up to them holding a Cubone in his arms.

"Hello, I'm Tia. This is Tom and Anna." Tia introduces herself and the group while still feeling a strange chill in the air.

"It's a pleasure, I'm Mr. Fuji and I run a Pokémon volunteer care center here in town." He smiles warmly as he pets the sad looking Cubone.

"Nice to meet you too sir." Anna steps out from behind Tom to pet the Cubone. "If you don't mind I asking, but is there something strange about this town?"

"Well that is an interesting point you bring up. Tell me, do you believe in ghosts?" Mr. Fuji asks as a sudden clap of thunder and a strike of lightning flash behind him.

"As if, everyone knows ghosts aren't real." Tia simply rolls her eyes.

"Isn't there a white hand on your shoulder right now?" Mr. Fuji is quick to point out an odd disembodied hand on Tia's right shoulder.

"Huh? So there is." Oddly not fazed by this at all Tia continues to listen to the elderly man.

"Well you see a ghost of this Cubone's dead mother seems to be haunting the Pokémon Tower. A graveyard in town where trainers lay their Pokémon to rest." He speaks mournfully as he continues petting the poor Cubone.

"That's so sad. Is there anything we can do to help?" Tom finally speaks up. He can't help feel bad for the poor Cubone. He pets the Cubone and immediately feels a massive wave of fear and sorrow. Tom's breathing grows shallow. "_So you're the one that was in so much pain._" Tom whispers to himself as he looks upon the Pokémon.

"I don't get why its mother is haunting the tower though?" Tia can't help feel this is a little strange even for this town.

Mr. Fuji shakes his head, "A group of villainous men attacked the tower and are now occupying it as their base. No one dares oppose them."

"What did these men look like?" Tom's head shoots up and assumes the worst.

"They wore black uniforms with red Rs on them." This is more than enough for the gang to know who did this.

"Team Rocket, I should have known." Tia balls her fist and stomps towards the haunted tower. "Let's go guys," she is determined to stop Team Rocket and put this ghost to rest. Tom and Anna walk alongside her with the same confidence.

The three head into the tower where once more Tom sense a wave of sorrow and pain. This feeling grows more intense though. As if the pain is all around them and slowly consuming him. "This is definitely foreboding." He rubs his temples as a headache begins to surface.

"Are you feeling alright Tom?" Anna doesn't feel what he does, but she can even tell something is wrong here.

He nods silently. "Yeah sorry. Empathic headache, I get them every now and then if I feel particular strong, negative emotions."

Tia stops and looks into the strange fog in the tower. "I see someone." She whispers and slowly sneaks close to get the jump on the blurry figure. "Hold it right there grunt!" Her shout is heard and the figure comes into view.

"Who are you calling a grunt?" The voice sounds familiar. As his face comes into view it's revealed to be a boy with red hair and frown on his face.

"Oh Silver, it's only you. What are you doing here?" Tia takes a sigh of relief.

"I could ask you the same thing. I heard Team Rocket was here so I will take care of them." His scowls and walks past her.

"Cool, let's take them on together." Tia pats him on shoulder as if she didn't even acknowledge how he was brushing her off.

"Oh it's Silver." Anna and Tom walks up next.

"Oh boy, the gangs all here." He sarcastically replies and rolls his eyes. "I heard the grunts are on the top floor so I'm going up to take care of them. Except something tells me I'm not going alone." He glares at Tia who is already ascending the stairs up the tower.

"You got that right." Tia looks over her shoulder and grins.

"There's a ghost hand on your shoulder." Silver blankly points out.

"It's fine, ghosts aren't real." The group is beginning to question Tia's deny as fear to acknowledge it.

"What are you talking about? Ghosts are real. They're than entire type of Pokémon!" Silver almost can't believe her ignorance or simple minded denial.

"Don't be silly Silver. That does raise one question though. How do Pokémon die? They only faint in battle." She brings up a good point. "Thank you."

"Please stop doing that." Tom pinches the bridge of his nose. "Pokémon grow old and die just like humans. If they didn't then Pokémon would be vastly over populating the world." Tom gives her some very sound knowledge.

"Really? We don't even know how Pokémon breed!" Tia continues to poke holes in the logic if a child's game.

"This conversation is so meta." Silver groans to Anna who simply giggles.

"Don't worry, everything will be back to normal next chapter."

"Really, you're doing it too?" Silver just shakes his head.

"Ahem, we'd like a little spotlight." A large gathering of Team Rocket grunts gather at the top of the stair awaiting the bickering trainers.

"So you're the ones causing all the trouble in the tower." Tia wastes no time calling out her Cyndaquil. Silver close behind with Totodile. "Alright everyone let's get them."

Tia and Silver quickly hop into the fray with their Pokémon. Cyndaquil unleashes a barrage of Ember while Totodile throws in a heavy dose of Water Gun. The two Pokémon work well in harmony, much like their trainers. Though, Silver would probably never admit it. The two continue to furiously fight off the grunts and all of their Zubat and Rattata.

Tom smiles, "Come on Anna, we can't let them have all the fun. Go Elekid!" Tom calls out his newest team member who happily charges into battle with a Thunderpunch ready. Tom runs forward to the top of the stairs where an entire onslaught of Pokémon awakes. "This is going to be fun." Tom cracks his knuckles from an almost sadistic joy.

"Well I guess I could stand to practice a little more." She sorts through her bag and pulls out a Pokeball that seems a bit older and worn from years of use. "Come on out Porygon-Z!" She calls out one of her first Pokémon she ever got on her journey. "Zap Cannon!" A huge burst of electricity bursts outward like a missile and electrocutes a large number of the Pokémon.

"Whoa Anna, you've been holding out on us." Tom is rather impressed.

"Well I would rather have Porygon-Z battling than my Regigigas." Anna knows with his destructive force it would most likely bring down the whole tower.

The battle with the grunts is pretty sort lives as they were nothing more than a bunch of push overs. They quickly flee, but the lingering presence that overwhelms Tom is still in the air and looming around them.

"Please tell us what we can do to help you." Tom speaks up hoping the ghost will hear them and give them a sign.

Suddenly a Marowak materializes and slowly approaches. The mother of the Cubone looks worried and sad, but still determined to fight even in death. Tom stands stoically awaiting her next move. With a swing of her bone club she points it at them to initiate a challenge.

"Who should fight it?" Tia is willing to battle, but she knows Tom is the one who can communicate best with it.

"I'll battle her." Silver quietly walks past Tia and approaches the Marowak. "I'll be your opponent. Your child is safe and will grow into a strong Pokémon. I figure you should know that before we begin." Silver has his Totodile step forward anxiously.

Marowak makes the first move and rushes forward with a powerful swing of the bone club. The hit misses when Totodile jumps out of the way with his usual speed and hyper nature. Totodile quickly responds with a Water Gun to the Marowak. The attack connects, but Marowak doesn't seem too concerned. She continues to charge forward with the same series of attacks, occasionally getting in a solid hit on Totodile, but the battle seems to have a deeper purpose behind it. Totodile gets another solid blow in which cause Marowak to stammer and fall on one knee.

"You don't need to fight anymore. Your son is safe." Silver's words seem to touch Marowak who nods and slowly fades away as a single tear falls.

Tom and Anna quietly walk down the stairs while Tia looks at Silver. She doesn't have anything to say so she just walks up behind him and wraps her arms around him. "That must have been hard." Her voice is soft and gentle.

"Not as hard as watching her die." He shrugs her off and walks away. Silver has his own skeletons in his closet, but Tia isn't going to let him just close himself off from the world. She follows close behind and exits the tower.

"Goodbye for now Silver," she lets him walk off without intruding or stopping him.

He doesn't show his face, but a few stray tears fall down his cheeks and a small smile crosses his face.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy. Please don't forget to leave a review on this chapter and the series as a whole. So I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween this weekend and I figured I might as well do a holiday themed episode. Except with a bit more of a comedic spin. I always felt weird watching holiday episodes of shows that had no place in continuity. Plus, i never did anything with Lavender Town, for this very reason. So this chapter is a bit more of a satire than anything. Not to be taken too seriously, but i hope it gets a laugh all the same. The narrator himself was more of a Stanley Parable-esque spin too.<p> 


	38. Chapter 37: You Bug Me!

Chapter 37: You Bug Me!

After the battle in the Slowpoke Well the gang explains the entire situation to Officer Jenny and manage to get out with little trouble. Suddenly a kid comes running up with a bug net. "What did I miss?" The kid asks in a huff.

Tia steps forward, "It's alright little girl, we stopped Team Rocket. You're safe." She patronizes the child, thinking nothing of it.

The kid looks up at Tia furiously. "Who are you calling a little girl?" The kid shouts in a tantrum.

Tia looks completely shocked and confused by the kid's reaction. "Tia, that's not a girl. That's Bugsy and he's a boy. Also, the gym leader." Tom explains hoping Bugsy doesn't go ballistic.

Tia covers her mouth, "Oh I'm so sorry, it's just you…" She bites her tongue. "Never mind!" She steps back in embarrassment. Tia felt embarrassed, but Bugsy's almost girlish face and purple hair made her think he was a she at first glance.

"More importantly, where were you, Bugsy? I figured you'd give a care enough to try and stop Team Rocket." Tom didn't have the best relationship with Bugsy, neither really liked one another. Bugsy being very immature and rash, and Tom being the way he is.

"Hey I was defending my gym. I can't be in two places at once!" He rebukes Tom's argument by snapping back. "Besides, I'm the gym leader, you can't talk to me like that." He says like a spoiled brat.

"Yeah, well I'm the champions so I can say whatever I want." Tom seems to stoop to Bugsy's level of pulling rank.

Anna steps between both of them. "Quit fighting you two."

Bugsy turns up his nose. "Whatever, the gym's closed for the rest of the day while we fix it up anyway." He says with his bratty attitude.

Anna winces, "Sorry Tia, I know you really wanted that battle."

Tia takes a seat on a bench, "It's fine; we already had to deal with a cave in and then Team Rocket. I've had enough excitement for weeks. I can wait, I just want to get my badge and head to the next town without running into any more natural disasters or evil organization." She takes a deep breath and stretches her arms. "Plus, I'm sure I'm not the only one who just wants to relax for the rest of the day."

"I'll book us a room in the Pokémon Center." Anna offers.

Bugsy walks off and Tom shakes his head, "I swear that kid should never have become a gym leader." Tom spitefully whispers.

"That's a little harsh don't you think?" Tia comments. Tom takes a seat beside her. "I'm sure he did his best. We can't all be like you." She smirks and rolls her eyes.

"Still there's a certain standard gym leader should meet and I really don't think he's there yet. He only took over for his father. Technically, gyms aren't inherited, they choose new leaders based on their skills." Tom explains so of the details behind leading a gym.

"What determines who can become a gym leader?" Tia asks.

"A lot of things, beating a league champion, winning the world tournament, being considered an expert in the field, and in a lot of situations recommendations from league members." Tom goes on to explain. "So yes, you could become a gym leader; even if Surge hadn't offered. Though, and please don't repeat this, Anna actually the perfect candidate for Goldenrod's gym."

Tia looks surprised, "What's wrong with the current gym leader?"

Tom shakes his head, "Skill wise: nothing. I'm just saying if that leader stepped down then the replacement is already chosen. It's up to a vote, but often time league champions and the Elite Four have the final say in the matter. Bugsy got in before I became champion though." Tom says begrudgingly knowing Bugsy's not ready for the position.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Tia had to ask. "It's none of my business."

Tom shakes his head, "Yet," he says vaguely. "Do you really expect to just be a trainer all your life? Frankly, not taking a position in a league would be a huge waste of your talents." He says completely stoically.

Tia blushes, "I didn't know you thought I was good enough," she giggles.

"I don't, but maybe someday you will be." He smirks and tries not to laugh.

"Screw you," Tia punches him in the arm playfully as they both laugh. "I'm heading to the room. What about you?"

"I'm going to call Sabrina and tell her we're alright. I just need to decompress after all that." Tom admits and lets Tia go. He calls Sabrina on his X-Transceiver and sighs. "Hey babe, we're alright." He says calmly.

"I'm relieved, did you beat Proton?" She asks urgently.

"Actually, Tia did, but then he tricked us and teleported out." He scowls just thinking about it.

"Don't let it get to you dear, you'll get him. I'm happy to hear Tia can still handle herself too. Got to admit she's a pretty talented trainer." Sabrina says from seeing her fight first hand.

"She's a fast learner, but she's still got a ways to go." Tom clarifies. "How are you doing?" He asks timidly.

"I'm doing well, the gym's been busy, but it's still lonely without you." She winks. "I was hoping you'd come back, but now that we know Team Rocket's running around in Johto. I know that's not going to happen." Sabrina says knowing her boyfriend all too well.

"That's why you're the best girlfriend ever." He says with his with his signature toothy grin. "I'm surprised you're not jealous I'm traveling with two other women." He laughs.

"Don't push it," she cautions, but lightens up. "It's because I trust you, Tom. What kind of trainer is Anna anyway?" She had to know.

"She'd definitely give Whitney a run for her money. The kicker though, she has Regigigas." He says stoically.

Sabrina looks awestruck, "You mean _the _Regigigas? How is that possible? She must be really powerful."

"She's probably the best Normal type trainer I know." Tom says knowing what means.

"That's saying something from you. You really think she could beat even your dad?" Sabrina asks curiously.

He nods, "Even without Regigigas." He says confidently. "I should get going now, I talk to you later. I love you." He smiles.

A while later Tia and Anna sit peacefully in their room. "So how are you feeling about the battle against Bugsy?" Anna asks curiously.

Tia looks over her Pokeballs, "I don't want to sound cocky, but from what Tom's said this should be easy compared to Falkner." She holds up one of the Pokeballs, "Plus, Cyndaquil here is more than strong enough to deal with some Bug types." She applauds her Pokemon with a warm smile.

Tom walks back in as they are talking, "Ladies, look what I got." He says excitingly holding three Slowpoke Tails. He hands them off and begins eating his own. He looks happy as a kid in a candy shop. "Delicious," he coos.

Anna shrugs and tries hers. She's pleasantly surprised, "Wow that is delicious, Tia you have to try it." Anna says happily.

Tia reluctantly takes a bite, "Whoa Tom, you weren't kidding. I never thought a Slowpoke's Tail would taste so good."

"I told you," he says in a sing song voice.

"Still empty calories and sugars." She turns up her nose. "I guess, I can excuse it this time." She finally cracks and smile and happily finishes it off. "I'm going to go walk off the calories now." She heads out.

"You are such a health nut!" Tom shouts. "Oh well," he shrugs. "You like it Anna?"

She nods, "Yeah, I heard they're really good. Nice to know they weren't lying. Although, I don't think I'll get fat eating these things." She giggles.

"Yeah," he sighs, "What were you two taking about before?" Tom asks seriously.

She tilts her head, "Just Bugsy and how Tia will probably win. Why?" Anna worried about whatever Tom is thinking.

"She's worried about something, but it's not her battle I guess?" Tom says confused. "She wanted to be alone for some reason?"

"She doesn't seem nervous to me. I mean she even said Cyndaquil could take on any Bug Pokémon he threw at her." Anna explains. "She worried about Silver maybe?" Anna proposes.

Tom shakes his head, "I don't see why she would be. He can handle himself and we all know this." Tom snaps his finger, "Maybe she's worried about what I said about Bugsy?"

"What about him being unfit as a gym leader? Why would that worry her?" Anna scratches her head trying to understand Tia's thinking. "Unless she thinks beating him would hurt his standing in the league?"

Tom nods, "That's my best guess."

Anna shifts nervously, "Well, would it?" She asks timidly.

Tom sighs and pulls out a special device with a large resource of league statistics and sits at the edge of his bed. His eyes widen, "Status says he needs to start showing improvement or will be replaced."

"Does that mean he'll be fired?" Anna sits beside him and looks at the small device.

He shakes his head, "He's teetering on the edge. Leaders have a certain quota they have to meet. The Pokémon's strength has to be appropriate, the number of Pokémon on a team is also limited depending on the gym, leaders must adhere to their designated type, and most importantly the must have a stable win-to-loss ratio." He goes on to say, "Basically, Bugsy's team is limited to three, lower leveled than Whitney, but higher than Falkner's. The problem is that he's not won a battle in months. Falkner and Whitney's ratio are sitting around 60-40 win-to-loss. Bugsy's ratio is 20-80 win-to-loss."

"Ouch that's pretty low," Anna says analyzing all the data.

"A leader should be within a 40-60 ratio. Falkner and Whitney are considered difficult for their relative standing, but anymore and they'd be reprimanded for being too powerful and they'd be forced to adjust their teams. If the ratio is too low they're given suspension and if they don't improve enough they're replaced." Tom knew the bureaucracy of the leagues all too well. As the champion he was forced to learn the ins and outs of the league.

"Does that mean Tia's battle might put him under suspension?" Anna asks again.

Tom shakes his head, "Not quite, but he'll be dangerously close." He puts the device away and lays back on the bed with his feet hanging over the end. "God I hate all this bureaucratic Tauros crap we have to deal with."

Anna lays back beside him, "I bet, but it seems pretty important." She looks over at him. "The league has to maintain a degree of difficulty or anyone could beat them." She gives her two cents on the matter.

"I know, but I just wish this didn't ultimately fall on my lap. If you just want care free battles you really would be better off never joining the league." He scratches his chin, "Though, it'd be a waste of talent if some trainers didn't. It's confusing." He concedes.

Anna smirks, "I overheard you telling Tia she should join and you said I should too." She jokes. "Admit it, you love being the champion. As much as you act humble; you revel in being the best." Anna has him pegged.

He laughs, "Guilty, if I didn't want to be champion I would have resigned by now. I do it because I love Pokémon and battling, not because of the bureaucracy." He clarifies.

"I doubt anyone does," she chuckles. "Do Frontier Brains or Elite Four members have to deal with this?" She's just full of questions.

"It's a little different. Elite Four members have a much higher standard and the Battle Frontier only chooses the best of the best." He explains, "That's why they aren't with the league, they're way more powerful."

"Do you know any Frontier Brains?" She asks anxiously.

"Unfortunately," he tries not to think about it.

"Oh sorry," she apologizes.

Tia returns before Tom speak up. She still looks a little depressed. She spots Tom and Anna lying next to one another. "Do I have to call Sabrina?" She smirks trying to brighten her moods. Tom panics and tumbles off the bed with a thud. She giggles, "I was joking Tom. Good night."

"Wait," Tom speaks up from the floor and quickly gets up. "If you're worried about Bugsy, don't. He's not in danger yet." Tom cautions.

Tia looks back at him surprised. "How did you figure that out?"

Anna speaks up, "You looked worried and I knew it wasn't because you were afraid of losing. So don't worry, just have a great battle."

Tia chuckles, "Thanks you two, now good night." She gets changed and climbs into bed. The others follows suit and get some rest before tomorrow's battle.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter and the series as a whole. So this was a bit of a lighter chapter. I wanted to focus a little more on the inner works of the Pokemon league in the Pokemon Sagas universe, because this will come into play with other stories down the line. Plus, I wanted to give my own take on how running a gym is like. Also, who didn't think Bugsy was a girl the first time you saw him back in Gold, Silver, and Crystal?<p> 


	39. Chapter 38: Bugsy's Decisive Battle

Chapter 38: Bugsy's Decisive Battle

The day has come, the day of Tia's second gym battle in Johto is finally upon her. She rises bright and early in the morning to get a little training in before the battle with Bugsy. Needless to say, Tia is confident and exciting. She can't wait to use everything she's learned up to this point to earn her next badge.

She meets up with the others and heads to the gym with haste. Inside Bugsy is standing at his end of the gym ready for his battle with Tia. She stand poised and confident on her end of the battlefield. Bugsy stood opposite her with his bug net and nervous expression on his face.

"This will be a standard one-on-one gym battle. The battle will continue until one team is no longer able to battle. The challenger is able to change out Pokémon whenever they wish." Bugsy rehearses the same tired rules. "Go Metapod," he calls out his first Pokémon.

Tom watches Bugsy's every move and the explanation of the rules to see how he is holding up. Without a single word Tom notices Bugsy's shaken nerves no matter how he tries to hide them.

Tia smiles mischievously, "Cyndaquil can handle this easily." She calls out her Fire type who is just as eager and excited to start. "Start off with an Ember!" She commands, Cyndaquil happily complies blasting Metapod with tongues of fire.

"Metapod use Tackle!" Bugsy orders. Metapod hones in on Cyndaquil, but unfortunately isn't faster enough to catch Tia's Pokémon. "Oh no, Metapod quickly turn around!" Bugsy panics. It was too late though in the time it took to recover another Ember nailed it in the back. Bugsy stomps the ground and grits his teeth. "Metapod Harden and go in for a Tackle." Metapod incases itself in a barrier of light which shines slightly as Metapod lunges forward.

Tia smiles as Cyndaquil takes the hit. "All the training I've been doing with Heracross has given me a few ideas. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to take a few hits if the payoff is worth it." Cyndaquil takes hold of Metapod and lifts it in his arms. Cyndaquil proceeds to told Metapod and fires straight upwards. Metapod is down before it even hits the ground.

He calls back Metapod, "Please Kakuna, I need you." He pleads.

Tia almost feels bad for him, but this is her battle to win. She didn't have room to be sympathetic. "Keep up the assault, Ember!" She says ruthlessly. The attack continues making quick work of Kakuna before even getting an attack out. Unfortunately, Kakuna has the same critical flaws Metapod has. Those being it's slow, bulky form and their huge weakness to fire.

Before calling it back the two notice Cyndaquil beginning to glow, to their amazement Cyndaquil evolved into Quilava in the middle of battle. Tia cheers, "Wow, Cyndaquil is so excited to battle that he even evolved!"

Bugsy trembles trying not to cry at how hopeless the battle was. Tia had him dead to rights, but still he had to continue and watch his Pokémon get knocked around because he's a weakling. "Please Scyther, take care of that Quilava." His star player emerges eagerly. "Go for a Quick Attack." He instructed.

Scyther flies forward rapidly. "Quilava stand your ground." Tia watches Scyther's pace. Once she gets an idea of how fast the strike will be she commands Quilava to dodge. "Quilava, roll out of the way!" Her choice turned out to be a smart one. Quilava tumbles to the left as Scyther's blade falls. To everyone's surprise Scyther's arm wedged into the ground and gave Quilava a perfect shot for its back. "Now Ember!" Quilava's mouth opens and shoots off burst of fire at Scyther's exposed back. Finally dislodging itself from the ground Scyther struggled to brush off the last assault.

Tom analyzes the battle. "That was impressive, I didn't even think of that one."

"She's a natural," Anna claps excitingly. Even Cleffa is cheering for Tia. The two are very pleased with how fast Tia has caught on now that she's fully grasped what kind of trainer she is. Unlike her normal personality Tia is very calm and patient in battle. She analyzes the situation and strikes accordingly. She has come a long way since her first gym battle with Brock in Kanto.

This didn't help Bugsy's morale unfortunately as he slowly accepted his defeat. "Scyther this is our last chance, make it count! X-Scissor!" Scyther's blades glow and charge after Quilava would was right in his cross hairs.

Tia quickly shouts, "Quick Attack underneath it!" Quilava's pace increased as it ran underneath Scyther avoiding the attack. "Ember!" This seals the deal. A clean sweep, Tia needed only one Pokemon to defeat all three of Bugsy's Pokemon. She cheers and grabs her Pokémon. She nuzzles Quilava against her cheek and walks over to Bugsy.

He looks over at her and pulls out the badge. "Congratulation…" He trembles and whimpers with a shaky voice. His eyes begin watering and in a fit Bugsy throws the badge at Tia and runs off crying.

Tia stumbles to catch the badge and calls back her Quilava before gives chase. "Bugsy wait!" She follows him out the door. She runs to the front door behind Bugsy when a figure appears. She comes to a grinding halt. "Silver?" She is taken by surprise by the red hair right in front of her.

"Tia, what's going on?" He looks back as Bugsy ran right past him.

"I'll explain on the way, come on!" She runs after Bugsy with Silver right alongside her. "I beat him in a battle and as he gave me the badge he threw it and ran off crying."

"You're kidding me!" Silver gritting his teeth in frustration. He can't believe how childish that is. The two eventually catch up to Bugsy who was on the ground right outside the Ilex Forest.

"Bugsy!" Tia runs up to him.

She puts her hand on his shoulder, but all he does is push it off. "Leave me alone! You got your badge. Just go away!" He cries weakly as he curls up in a ball on the ground.

Silver walks up, "I'm here for a gym battle Azalea gym leader." Silver coldly challenges Bugsy knowing that he can't turn him down.

"Just take the badge, I won't waste your time." He drops badge at Silver's feet.

Silver growls and stomps on the badge with an insulted looked. He grabs Bugsy by the collar and drags him up. "I said I wanted a gym battle you little brat." He says menacingly. "You must be a real failure of a trainer if you just give up like this." Silver keeps berating him.

"Silver…" Tia realizes that Silver's not trying to be mean, but using brutal honesty. She didn't necessarily like this method, but this isn't too different from what Tom would do. Either way, this seems to be the fast way to snapping Bugsy out of his depression.

Bugsy cried, "I'll never be as good as my father," he sulks in his own self-pity.

"You're right, as long as you think you're stuck in your dad's shadow you'll never surpass him!" Silver says something that surprises them both. Tia doesn't get why this struck a chord with Silver, but he's absolutely right.

"Silver's right," Tia finally speaks up, "When I finally decided to become a trainer I swore I'd be better than two people and one of them was my dad." She stops and thinks about it; Gary and her father Noland. She knew she had a long road ahead of her before she could defeat her dad, a Frontier Brain, in battle.

Bugsy sniffs, "You're right," he stares down Silver. "Let me heal my Pokémon, then we'll have our battle at the gym." He runs off to the center. Leaving Tia and Silver alone.

Tia looks over at him smiling. "What?" He seems annoyed by her cheesy grin.

"Nothing, I just never thought you'd have a soft side." She teases.

He rolls his eyes, "I don't have a soft side; sometimes people just need a good kick in the ass." Silver's brutal honesty definitely got Bugsy out of his funk. Tia keeps smiling. "Seriously, you're starting to creep me out."

She giggles, "So who's the person you're out to beat?" She asks abruptly.

He continues walking, "I already told you, Team Rocket. I'll be the one to beat them this time." He exclaims. "First I have to beat the league and you before I know I can beat Team Rocket." Looks back at Tia with that same level of determination he always has.

"Why are you so bent on beating me before you can take down Team Rocket?" Tia didn't quite understand why beating her was so important.

"Because I need to be at my absolute best to beat them. That means beating the one who stopped them the first time." His logic still seems odd to her, but she accepts it nonetheless. She enjoys having a rival.

Tia continues to smile, "Good luck then," she surprises him with a kiss on the cheek and walks off back to the gym.

He stares awestruck as she walks off, "What is that girl's problem?" He dismisses her gesture despite his burning red cheeks.

Tia walks in to see Tom and Anna still very confused. "Tia what happened?" Anna asks her urgently.

"Everything's fine now, Bugsy's coming back to battle with Silver." Right on cue the two walk in and take their spots opposite one another. "Now let's sit back and enjoy the battle."

The battle proceeds a lot better than Tia's did. Silver started with his Spinarak which fared well against Bugsy's Metapod and Kakuna. It was a very close match with their Pokemon. Spinarak barely managing to take down Kakuna and its sturdy defense.

Tom watches this battle just as closely and notices a huge difference in Bugsy's attitude towards the battle. "What did you two say to him?" Tom's curiosity has been piqued.

"I think Bugsy was just stuck in his dad's shadow." Tia reclines back in her seat and watches the battle.

Tom nods, "I Think we both know something about that."

Tia smiles as she watches Silver fight with all his ferocity. "Go Silver!" She cheers loudly, "And you too Bugsy! To be honest I'm not sure who to cheer for in this situation!" Tia's confused cheering only services to annoy Silver.

"Will you shut up!" Silver bares his fangs at her, but all she does is laugh and wink at him. "You are impossible!"

Bugsy is giving his all in the battle and giving Silver a real run for his money. Tia is amused to see Silver's Pokémon as energetic as always and wasn't about to give up even when Scyther came out with its powerful X-Scissor. Silver retaliates with his Croconaw. Silver is very strategic himself, but he likes to run in guns blazing like Tia use to. She's learned to adapt using her own style, but Silver's style fit him well. In the end Silver won, but only by the skin of his teeth. They were both happy with the outcome and Silver accepts the gym badge from Bugsy.

Tia cheers, "Good job to you both!"

Bugsy smiles while Silver remains aloof as usual. He walks off waving over his shoulder. "Remember Tia, next time we meet we're battling." He shouts over his shoulder.

"I'll remember!" She happily shouts back. "You know, I kind of like having a rival." She giggles and looks over at Tom and Anna.

"It's a good motivator," Tom points out and heads out. "Bugsy," he stops and looks over at him. "I expect improvements from here on out. Make your old man proud." Tom smirks and walks off with the girls.

"So where to next?" Tia asks eagerly.

"We're heading west to Ilex Forest." Anna looks at the map. "It's said that the forest is where the legendary guardian of the forest and North Wind rest." She says eagerly.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!" She runs off ahead. Tom and Anna both chuckle and chase after their energetic friend.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the story as a whole. Alright, so that;s another gym down and we got to see quite a bit of character development out of Silver. I never liked Silver in the games, mostly because he was an ass for no real good reason. I wanted to give a sense that Silver has a chip on his shoulder thanks to a very troubling past. Anyone who knows Silver's backstory in the Adventures manga knows what I'm talking about. Well, one aspect of it at least.<p> 


	40. Chapter 39: The Guardian of the Forest

Chapter 39: The Guardian of the Forest

Tia, Tom and Anna wade through the thicket of Ilex forest as the canopy above covers them from much of the sunlight. The three marvel at the beauty of the forest and observe all the Pokémon in their natural habitat. The forest is lush and green with all matters of plant life. After couple hours of exploring they stop to set up a camp for lunch.

Tia stretches and calls out her Pokémon. Quilava, Heracross, and Flaaffy. "Come on, let's all let out our Pokémon." Tia energetically pets her own team.

"You know I'd like to see your full roster myself," Tom looks over at Anna. He tosses his Pokeballs in the air. Out comes Flygon, Cleffa, Arcanine, Luxray, Elekid, and a Lucario that Tia hadn't seen before. Cleffa runs up to Tom who he happily picks up. Arcanine and Luxray get the same idea and lay out in the sun. Elekid climbs excitedly on Tom's back and Flygon nuzzles up to him. Lucario causally looks at his trainer and leans against a tree in the shade.

"You have a pretty diverse team there Tom." Anna can tell he put a lot of thought into his type coverage.

"Yeah, never seen that Lucario before though." Tia points out.

"I still have a few surprises up my sleeve. He's been with me a while, he's definitely not the excitable type, but he's very loyal." Tom points out. "Okay Anna, your turn." Tom goads her.

"I know," she calls out her full team. The obvious Pokémon emerge: Blissey, Zangoose, and Regigigas. Then Tom and Tia get their first glimpse of the rest of her team. An Audino peacefully emerges, a Porygon-Z excitedly floats around, and finally her Braviary takes flight and perches itself atop a large tree branch.

"Wow Anna, you have so many cool Pokémon." Tia couldn't help fawn over them excitedly. "Where'd you get a Porygon-Z?" Tia asks giving it a once over.

"I helped out a scientist in Veilstone City in the Sinnoh region. He repaid me with an Upgrade and Dubious Disc." She explains petting her affectionate Audino.

Tia begins grabbing ingredients for a meal and has Quilava start a small fire for them to cook on. "Well I'm starving, how about you all?" She offers.

"That'd be great, thanks Tia." Tom was too busy observing all the Pokémon and plants to pay much mind to what she was making. He loved nature and this forest was no exception. The first time he had visited was a couple years back and he can still remember the gentle scents of the forest. It was also the first time he'd met her.

Tia shakes Tom who was deep in thought, "Tom, you in there?" Tia asks impatiently.

He shakes his head, "Huh?" He looks around.

"I said lunch is ready. You were zoned out." She rolls her eyes and hands him a plate. She also set out several bowls of Pokémon food for them as well. "Better eat before it gets cold." She chirps and sits beside her Pokémon.

Tom walks up and sits beside his Lucario. "You like it here Lucario?" His Pokémon simply smiles and nods. "I know you weren't here with me the first time I was here, but this place is very special as I'm sure you can tell." He pets Lucario on the top of the head.

The whole group eats up and decide to relax for a bit before continuing. Once they get all packed up Tia notices something odd. Everyone calls back their Pokémon, except one. "Anna where's Blissey?" No doubt Blissey ran off like he normally does.

"Oh come on!" She shouts in agony. Her Blissey sure has a knack for running off. She runs through the forest. Tia and Tom both follow behind so they don't get separated.

They enter a clearing and spot Blissey with a young woman in a Kimono. "There you are!" Anna runs up.

The girl laughs, "So this is your Blissey I assume?" She smiles brightly as she pets Anna's Pokemon.

"Anna did you find Blissey?" Tia emerges and spots the two girls. "Erika?" She does a double take to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her.

Erika smiles, "Long time no see Tia."

"Where are you girls? It's not safe to run around in these forests. You could get lost." Tom emerges out of the brush and is greeted by a familiar face. "Erika, this is a surprise."

Erika wastes no time running up to Tom and wrapping her arms around him. "Tom!" She chirps and squeezes him. "This is a very good surprise." She speaks affectionately as always.

Anna notices the way Erika fawns over Tom and is a little disturbed. "Um… is that the Celadon City gym leader?" She asks confused.

Tia nods, "She is."

"Why is she acting like that?" Anna asks the obvious question.

"She treats Tom like her brother," Tia clarifies.

"This is how she would treat a brother?" Anna was now a bit more creeped out by all this.

"She has a bit of a brother complex I guess. Even if Tom's not her brother. You know I'm beginning to think she only says she likes him like a brother, but if Sabrina wasn't in the picture it'd probably be different." Tia assess for herself.

"Enough you two," Tom speaks up and gets out of Erika's grasps. "What are you doing here Erika?" he asks the obvious question.

She giggles and looks up to him, "You of all people should remember. We met in the exact same situation all those years ago." She teases and walks off with them following curiously.

"What is she talking about Tom?" Tia whispers to him as they walked.

"The Forest Guardian ceremony." He clarifies. "It's a ritual performed by the Forest Maiden every year. It's a tradition for the Forest Maiden to honor the Guardian of the Forest. Erika's family has been passing down the title of Forest Maiden to the first born daughter for centuries." He explains as they approached a small shrine.

"It's my humble duty to honor the Guardian of the Forest so it can give me strength as a Grass Type gym leader. This ritual not only honors the guardian, but the North Wind too." Erika says calmly.

Before them stood a small shrine arranged with a small opening to house something. Behind the shrine was a pathway that led to a large lake. The lake itself shone beautiful in the sun like it were a diamond.

"As Forest Maiden I must honor the guardian at its shrine and proceed to cleanse myself in the North Wind's pure waters. It's a simple ceremony, but it fills me with so much joy every time." Erika smiles. "We do it out of obligation, but it hardly feels like work." She giggles. "I would be happy to let you witness the ritual." She offers.

Tia's interest is piqued. "Yeah, this looks really interesting. I'd like to see what happened." Tia says excitedly.

"Me too, it reminds me of the ritual for the Guardian of the North back in Snowpoint." Turns out Snowpoint had a similar way of honoring Regigigas when it was dormant, but that most involved singing and dancing around the ruins.

Erika takes a deep breath and approaches the shrine. She sets down a Pokeball in the shrine and gets on her knees. "Guardian of the Forest, I brought you here once more to honor and empower you. I, your humble Forest Maiden, bless you so that you can bless me with your strength." The Pokeball opens and reveals Celebi who flutters around happily. Tia and Anna are amazed to see Erika has a legendary Pokémon in her possession.

Tia looks over at Tom, "So that's what you stopped her from using that day?" She says quietly. Tom doesn't respond and keeps watching the ceremony.

"Celebi, my power is yours," she extends out her hands as Celebi gracefully lands in her arms. She cradles the small, fairy-like Pokémon. She stands and walks past the shrine down the path to the lake. "With the Guardian of the Forest I seek to cleanse myself and purify the lake for the great North Wind." She cradles Celebi close to her arms and steps serenely into the lake. She continue until the water met her knees and kneels down. She was in positioned up to her waist and laid Celebi in the water. Instantly the waters glowed and she closed her eyes. "Great North Wind, we humble offer you our strength to keep this forest pure." She declares.

Celebi ascends out of the water with a powerful glow and lets out a cry. "Guardian of the Forest, the protector of all Grass type Pokémon gives you strength so that it may be granted your strength in return." Erika stands up and spreads her arms wide.

Instantly a loud bang goes off and a net snags Celebi much to Erika's surprise. Everything happened so fast Erika didn't know what was going on. Her mind couldn't process what was happening fast enough.

The next thing she knew there was a Koffing firing Sludge at her. She couldn't move or think straight. All she could think is that her Celebi was captured right before her eyes.

"Lucario!" Tom orders as his Pokémon runs through the water deflecting the Sludge. Tom runs up behind Erika and quickly covers her.

Tia and Anna run up alongside the lake and call out their own Pokémon. "Go Heracross!"

"Go Braviary!" The two Pokémon emerge and fly after the Koffing. They take it down, but more arrive and the net that captured Celebi was getting reeled back in.

A bunch of men in uniforms come running out with Pokémon of their own. They run interference while Tia and Anna try to reach the net holding Celebi.

"Team Rocket you bastards!" Tom shouts, "Lucario, Aura Sphere!" The hit connects with just one of the dozens of Koffing.

One man finally steps out from the crowd wearing a unique uniform from the rest. He laughs, "Who knew getting a legendary Pokémon would be so easy?" He mocks them.

"Who are you?" Tia demands.

"Right where are my manners? I am the Rocket Executive that's going to steal your beloved Guardian of the Forest. You can call me Petrel for short." He announces smugly.

"Braviary grab Celebi, don't worry about the Koffing." Anna desperately tries to reclaim Celebi. This plan didn't work out so well seeing as they had formed a wall between her Pokemon and Celebi.

Celebi struggles and cries, Erika can only look up in shock and suddenly remembers something very important. "Celebi no, you mustn't!" She shouts a little too late.

Celebi cries as the whole forest lights up. "What's happening?" Tia asks.

Erika shakes her head, "The Voice of the forest. Celebi is a special legendary Pokemon that can transcend time!" Erika exclaims.

Everything around them begins to glow and in a bright flash of light everything around them changed. It was suddenly night time and the whole forest seemed lighter as if the trees were less developed than before.

"Did Celebi send us back or forward in time?" Tom asks worried.

"Who cares, we got our legend. Now we just need to get it to take us back and then we can claim it as Team Rocket's." Petrel laughs. "Smokescreen!" All the Koffing listen as they spew a thick smoke.

Once the smoke clears all the grunts and Celebi were gone. "No!" Erika cries. "Tom let me go!" She tries to rip herself out of his grasp.

"Erika stop! We don't know where they even went. It's too dangerous." He says logically.

Erika begins crying, "Please Tom, they took Celebi. I was responsible for his safety. I'm the Forest Maiden!" She cries out desperately.

He holds her tightly and embraces, "Erika, I need you to calm down. We'll save Celebi, but first we need a plan." He explains.

Anna speaks up, "I think we should set up camp and have Braviary and Heracross try to find Team Rocket." Anna offers.

"Good idea, once we find them we can find a way to ambush them." Tia says cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

"See we have a plan now, charging in blindly won't help us." Tom says calmly. He sits down against a tree with Erika in his arms. She rests against Tom's chest. Her tear stained cheeks rubbed against his shirt as she tries to relax.

"What should we do in the mean time?" Tia asks watching her Heracross fly off.

"Hold down the fort I guess, we just travelled through time so this is pretty unfamiliar territory." Anna suggests. The two walk off leaving Tom and Erika alone.

"What are they going to do to my poor Celebi?" She asks in agony.

Tom runs his hands through her hair. "As long as they are in this time period nothing, they know Celebi is their ticket back." Tom assures her. "Everything will be alright." He whisper gently and holds her close.

"Life is so unfair," she whispers and looks into Tom's eyes. "I remember when we first met here." She reminisces.

"Yeah, I walked in right in the middle of the ceremony." He says fondly.

"Wasn't your first question, 'why are you kneeling in the lake'?" She giggles. "It's a shame really." She smile vanishes. "Your heart already belonged to her and you hadn't even properly met yet." Erika says looking longingly into his eyes. "If only you hadn't seen her; there could have been a chance."

"We both know Sabrina's not the reason." He calmly explains what she knows full well.

"That never stopped me from falling in love." She sheds a few tears. "I'm a terrible friend; to her and you." She admits.

"Why?" Tom asks and is immediately given an answer in the form of a long, passionate kiss on the lips. Her every emotion was being poured out. She was weak and vulnerable, at least that's what he's choosing to believe. He may not reciprocate her feelings, but he knew to give her at least this much. He didn't do it out of pity and he's no stranger to a situation like this either. He just chose to let Erika embrace what she feels is right in the heat of the moment. Tom feels guilty, but at the same time he knows that this much more than a kiss to her. Even if it has no emotional ties for him.

Their lips finally part, "You are just as bad. You know how much I love you, but don't do anything about it. You let us keep up this façade of a friendly brother-sister relationship." She scolds him gently. "Even now, you only let this continue out of pity."

Tom glares back at her, "Would rather me crush your spirits and break your heart?" He says bitterly. "You think this is easy for me? You are a dear friend and I don't want to lose that. So I won't stop you from being the way you are." He explains in a very brutally honest manner, but still tender and caring.

She sighs and rests her head against Tom's chest. Tia watched silently and heads back to the camp. "How are things looking Anna?"

"Camp's all set, but neither Braviary nor Heracross have returned yet." She says worried. "We should try to relax, no point in getting stressed out that'll only make it everything worse."

Tia sits beside Anna who had a fire going. "I guess waiting is all we can do." She lets out a tired breath. "I hope Erika will be alright." Tia says tiredly.

"I'm sure Tom can take care of her, they're like brother and sister you said." Anna responds positively. Although, Tia questions that now after what she'd overheard. "I wonder what it was like the first time they met." Anna ponders to herself.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the story as a whole. So I thought I'd break from the story thus far in the games. I figured I'd add a little something special to give the story a bit more of a unique spin. This will be happening a lot more in the future. This is where I feel the series really starts to get significantly better than it was in the past. Also, yes Celebi was referenced all the way back in <em>Chapter 16: Rematch<em>. There are many things I've alluded to in the past that wind up being incorporated later in the series.


	41. Chapter 40: The Forest Maiden

Chapter 40: The Forest Maiden

Tom, only fourteen years old, finds himself wondering aimlessly through the Ilex Forest. He looks up at his shiny new gym badge and grins. "It was a hard fought battle, but we got it Noctowl." He says to the Pokémon resting on his shoulder. "Yeah, Bayleef couldn't do much, but it's not like I'd expect anything less from you, my friend." He says arrogantly. "I bet we could take on an army of Scyther and come out unscathed." He continues stroking his ego before feeling a gentle breeze. "Noctowl, you feel that? That breeze is cool, water must be nearby!" He runs forward with his Pokémon flying behind him as her reaches the lake.

In it he finds a very sight. A young girl his age kneeling up to her waist in the water.

She loudly proclaims, "Great North Wind and Guardian of the Forest, empower the land, its people, and the Pokémon so we may prospers. As Forest Maiden I shall go forth with the mighty guardian's power to help this world flourish." She boldly declares as Celebi flies behind her and back into the ball placed in the shrine.

She hears some rustling in the bushes and looks over, she spots Tom and stares blankly not sure what to say or do.

He rubs his head nervously. "Why are you kneeling in the lake?"

Erika giggles into her hand. "Why is it weird I'm kneeling in a lake?" She teases.

"Well don't people usually swim in lakes with you know a swimsuit or something?" He does really see her argument as valid, but it's intrigued him none the less.

"Fair enough, it's a part of the Forest Guardian's ceremony. I, the Forest Maiden, have to pay tribute to the Guardian of the Forest and the North Wind." She explains happily.

"Still doesn't explain the kneeling in the lake." Tom points out.

"It's a symbol of purity. I am one with the lake and forest." She says serenely.

"Sounds like a bunch of hippy talk." Tom says annoyed by her explanation.

"Mock it all you want, but it is how my Celebi gets his strength and helps empower my team." Erika says not feeling all to insulted by his views. "Plus, the water cleanses body, soul, and mind."

Tom looks skeptically at her and all her talk of purity. "Do you really believe that?"

She shakes her head, "I don't need to believe when I have proof. Please, join me." She extends out a hand. Tom treads closer to the lake.

"Good, now step in the water." She says serenely extending her hand towards him. Their hands meet and Tom steps in feeling almost instantly soothed. The lake was warm and so tranquil. Erika guides him by the hand into the deeper end of the lake.

"This feels heavenly." He feels like his every stress is being washed away. His head emptied of all negativity; everything had perfect clarity. He look to Erika and could feel something: happiness. Not his happiness, but strangely enough hers. It was weird, but he was in sync with her emotions. She was happy, calm, and excited. This isn't the first time he's felt this, but it's never been as clear as it has been right here, right now.

She looks at him and notices a confused expression on his face, "Something the matter?" She asks swimming around him.

He shakes his head, "Nothing," he starts swimming around with her. She dives under the water and swim around with a small school of Remoraid. He joins her under the water. Still feeling nervous about swimming around with a total stranger. Erika notices his shyness and swim closer. The two eventually surface right in front of each other.

Erika giggles, "You don't have to be so nervous. I'm not going to bite." She says swimming closer to him until they were treading inches from each other. "Are you afraid of little, old me?" She teases making Tom's cheeks flare up even more.

"What's there to be afraid of?" He says defensively and averting his gaze. "This whole situation is just a bit weird for me." He states rigidly.

"Sounds like you're afraid of something?" She gets even closer this time.

"N…no!" He shouts nervously.

Erika tilts her head, "Really? What's your name by the way?"

"Tom," he still feels a little on edge even though he has nothing to worry about clearly.

She swims up and wraps her arms around him. Her petite body presses up against his. "I like you, Tom. You seem like a great guy." She coos. "My name's Erika, by the way."

He remains stiff as a board and stammers. "Thanks Erika, but could you let go of me."

She nods, "If that's what you really want." She kisses him on the cheek and let's go of the disheveled trainer. She swims to the side of the lake and steps out. She stretches flaunting her body once more. Tom turns his head when he sees her clothes sticking to her body and revealing her petite frame. Tom quickly steps out and begins to head off in his own direction. "Are you leaving so soon?" Erika asks disappointedly.

Tom stops for a moment. "I need to get to Goldenrod." He says in a hurry.

"Sure you don't have time for a Pokémon battle?" She asks politely.

Little did she know that was Tom's trigger. He smiles determined and sets all his processions aside. "A battle huh?" He speaks with new found confidence.

"Oh, did I perhaps hit a chord." She smiles and grabs a Pokeball. "I will warn you though; I am a gym leader." She assures him.

He smiles mischievously, "That's great; I've been waiting for a worthwhile opponent. Hope you're better than the last two I fought." He says with a cocky tone.

She nods, "Indeed I am, my gym is the Celadon City gym in Kanto." She proudly declares with her arms spread wide.

"Well since you're a gym leader let's make a deal. I win, you give me your gym badge." Tom says with a fierce glint in his eyes.

Erika matches his determination. "Deal, but if I win, then I get a reward of my own."

Tom frowns wondering what she could want, but dismisses it. "Sure, whatever you want. It's not like you'll win anyway. I'm going to be the best trainer in the world. I've already conquered three regions. What's two more?" He grabs his Pokeball and calls out his Noctowl. "Johto and Kanto are stepping stones to me." He brags.

"Have you ever heard the old proverb, 'Pride comes before a fall'?" Erika winks and calls out her own Pokémon. A Bellossom emerges out of the ball dancing as Bellossom love to do.

Tom frowns, "Man, I wanted to see that Celebi in action." He scowls.

Erika laughs in her hand, "I'm afraid Celebi is too powerful for you. I'd want it to be a fair fight after all." She patronizes him.

"You suck!" He shouts not liking the insult or the fact she's holding back. "Noctowl, beat that thing into the ground, Aerial Ace!" He demands. With due swiftness Noctowl flies towards Bellossom who was happily dancing about.

Erika's a little shaken by his reaction, but she manages to instruct her Pokémon to successfully dance out of the way. "Magical Leaf Bellossom." Erika says with grace.

Noctowl wasn't able to recover in time so it took the brunt of the assault. "Another Aerial Ace and this time don't freaking miss!" He shouts forcefully. His raw anger was getting to him and it was making Erika shake. He is the same guy she just met. Bellossom took a hit, but managed to avoid a large about of the damage. "Noctowl drill maneuver!" Noctowl adjusts its wings and flight to ascend up and forms a U-turn back towards Bellossom. Erika was ready to dodge, but what she wasn't ready for was Noctowl to start spinning with a Peck in action.

Bellossom is sent flying by the attack leaving Erika stunned. She swallows a lump in her throat. "I must say that was impressive. Although, you do recall where we are right?" She smiles. "Leaf Storm!" Suddenly the leaves on the trees kick up and whirl around Noctowl who was stuck in a tornado of leaves.

Tom growls, "Noctowl get out of there now!" His voice booms making Erika shake and tremble. She is at one time feeling his determination, but that sensation was being replaced by fear. As if this isn't a friendly battle, but instead as if he's out for blood. Noctowl broke through the leaves and charged towards Bellossom waiting its trainers order. Erika was paralyzed with fear, as if Tom's anger was being forced onto her. Without a word Bellossom is left to Noctowl's mercy after a few hits the Grass Type fell. "Looks like I won." He says with a deadly gleam in his eyes. He slowly approaches her calling back his Pokémon.

Erika panics and stumbles to the ground. "Get away from me!" She cries. "You…you battle like a monster!" She tries to get up but her whole body felt paralyzed with fear.

Tom stops immediately and looks at her. He starts shaking and clenches his arms. "What is happening to me?" He's never felt this hostility before. He was afraid, but didn't know why. He could sense her fear, he'd terrified this frail girl. He runs over to her and gets on her level.

"Get away from me! Please, don't hurt me!" She cries out tears pour down her face as she stared him down.

Tom does the only thing he can think of. He embraces her and wraps his arms around her. "Erika please, I won't hurt you!" He shouts crying himself. "I don't know what is happening to me. Are you afraid of me?" He asks with a heavy heart.

She silently nods, "I'd never fought someone who could do that." She grimaces thinking about it still. "What were you doing?" She demands an answer.

Tom shakes his head. "I don't know what's happening to me? In the past I've had flashes of what other people felt. Now, I can feel your fear. In that battle I was somehow giving off my own anger." Tom is still very confused. "I've told only special people can do this." He goes on to explain.

"Are you one of them?" Erika asks feeling much more relaxed.

Tom again shakes his head, "I don't know, all I know is that it was an empathic force that caused all this." He says hoping she catches on.

"Empathic, like emotions?" She asks getting a nod in return. She sighs, "You really are a one of a kind." She gives him a nervous smile and hugs him as well. Her heart rate begins to steady as she feels a warmth pass over her. "You're a really gentle when you want to be."

Tom looks down and without a second though her holds her tighter. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He smiles.

Erika pulls away and walks over to her stuff. "I suppose this is yours now." She hands him the Rainbow badge. She puts her finger to her lips, "Don't tell the league or I'll be in real hot water." She laughs.

"Hey, what was it that you were going to have me do if you won?" He asks curiously.

"It's not like it matters." She giggles and sits beside him.

"Please, just tell me. I think honoring your request is the least I could do." Tom politely offers to her.

"What a gentleman. If you insist," she leans over and kisses him on the cheek. "Do you have any siblings?" She asks jokingly.

"No," he answers abruptly.

"Neither do I, I'd love to have a brother. If you'd humor my strange request?" She giggles and wraps her arms around one of his.

He laughs, "Strange is definitely what I'd call that, but you know I think that'd be alright." He shrugs making Erika's face light up.

"This will be fun," she chirps.

"Yeah, but I really should get going." Tom says feeling a little bad about leaving so soon, but he had to get on the road. "It was nice meeting you, Erika." He says with a warm smile.

She clings onto him, "It's getting late, would you really want to leave a little girl like me all alone in the forest." She says with puppy eyes.

Tom couldn't resist, "Fine, you win." He smirks and walks over, grabbing his things. He reaches into his bag and unwinds a sleeping bag. "First thing in the morning I have to get on the road to Goldenrod." He explains sternly.

Erika walks over pulling out her own bag. "I understand, just don't forget to say goodbye." She replies sweetly and lays her bag beside his. She also pulls out a badge. "Also, I won't forgive you if you don't visit me in Celadon City." She giggles.

"Deal," he says happily and slowly fell asleep beside Erika.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review on your thoughts of the chapter and the series as a whole. Well this chapter is going up way earlier than usual thanks to a bit of a scheduling conflict. So you get your weekly chapter probably before you even woke up (depending on time zones of course). Regardless, I wanted a chapter devoted a bit to Tom's past. Something that doesn't get explored too much. I had at one point in time considered making a Sagas series for Tom's back story, but I honestly felt it would have been a bit superfluous. Also, been playing a lot of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. There are going to be a lot of major changes to my original Hoenn arc I can tell you that right now.<p> 


	42. Chapter 41: The North Wind

Chapter 41: The North Wind

It's a dawn of a new day and the four young trainers wake early to think of a plan to stop Team Rocket and rescue Celebi. Though, it is certainly proving to be a bit more difficult than they were expecting.

Tia paces around, "I can't believe Heracross and Braviary still haven't found them." She says dejected. "Do you think they already got back to our time?"

Erika shakes her head, "Celebi would never listen to them. They're still here with us. The problem is this forest is so large and easy to hide in." Erika sinks her head low and leans against an oak tree.

Tom looks deep in thought, "You got a plan Tom?" Anna tries to brainstorm herself, but she is having a hard time with the disadvantage they are at. Though anything would be better than simply standing around.

"Why look for Team Rocket?" Tom asks the others studiously.

Tia just looks at him aghast, "Yeah, why bother? It's not like we're trying to save Celebi or get back to our own time." She speaks with as much sarcasm as possible.

Tom glares at her, "I mean, why bother looking for them if they're going to have find us?" He has the makings of a plan in his mind. "Erika said Celebi would only listen to her. So obviously Petrel will need us to get back to the correct time."

Anna snaps her fingers, "I get it, instead of wasting time finding them, we can set traps for when they come looking for us."

Tia nods her head, "Wow, I got to hand it to you Tom that's brilliant." Tia definitely approves of this plan, even if it requires her to sit around and wait. They are at least taking a proactive approach.

Erika speaks up, "Thank you all, I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here to help. Honestly, I don't think I could protect poor Celebi on my own." Erika says defeated.

Tia walks over to her and frowns. In a single sweep Tia smacks Erika across the face. "You've been brooding this freaking time!" She scowls. "What happened to the fierce gym leader that wiped the floor with my team and chewed me out for not having a plan?" Tia shouts making Erika wince.

"Tia…" Anna begins to speak up, but Tom stops her. As brutal as Tia is being it's a truth that Erika needs to hear.

"You want to sit here and whine about how helpless the situation is or do you want to done something about this?" She asks angrily.

Erika looks deep into Tia's eyes while rubbing her cheek. "Thank you Tia, wallowing in self-pity isn't going to fix this." She collects herself and gives them all a more determined look. "So where do we begin?" She asks grabbing her Pokeballs.

Elsewhere, deep within Ilex Forest a small Rocket encampment has been set up in the thicket of the brush and trees. "Time travel already!" Petrel shouts at Celebi. Celebi simply turns up his head no longer afraid of his captors. "You little- just because we're at your mercy doesn't me we won't torture you until you cooperate." He threatens the legend in the small cage.

A few grunts walk up and stand in attention. "Sir, we have news."

"Well out with it you idiots! When the hell are we?" Petrel snaps at his already nervous peons.

One speaks up with a trembling voice, "Well sir, we're approximately forty years in the past." He could tell Petrel was about to blow his top so he takes a few steps back.

"Forty freaking years?" He shouts. "Find those kids or I swear none of you will live to see us return to our own time!" The men scramble around like idiots. "It is so hard to find good help." He sits down and continues to stare down Celebi who was laughing at him.

Another grunt runs up, "Sir, we found them!" He declare.

"About time! Make me wait any longer we won't have to time travel back!" Petrel grossly exaggerates as he stands up and grabs Celebi's cage. He smiles evilly and walks off down the path.

Meanwhile, back at the young trainers' camp they all stood in position ready to attack. "Everyone where we need to be?" Tom asks quietly from behind a bush.

Tia's Heracross has returned along with Anna's Braviary. Tia gives a thumbs up from behind a large tree. Anna gestures from atop a tree with Tom's Lucario and her Braviary perched in a tree not far off. Erika stood in the clearing where she acted as bait to Rocket with her Bellossom at the ready.

Petrel walks up with Celebi's cage in hand. "So you just decided to give up?" He says pompously. "Smart move, now get over her and I'll you return _us _back to forty years in the future." He says with a devilish grin.

"Why should I? I will not let you have Celebi!" She defies. "Bellossom use Petal Dance!" Her Pokémon springs up and fires off a large amount of petals at Petrel and the grunts. The grunts came prepared with a horde of Zubat ready to block the oncoming attack.

Most of the Zubat take the hit and brush it off. "Not smart girly, now get over her and we'll end this all peacefully." He then stops and thinks for a moment. "Hold on, where are the others?"

"Go Lucario!" Tom shouts as the aura Pokémon drops down and bashes a few of the Zubat. Lucario then charges forward towards Erika. He goads the grunts to follow him. As they do the ground caves in on them.

"A pitfall?" Petrel is stunned to say the least. He was not expecting this level of planning and foresight on their part.

"Yeah, Heracross and Zangoose dug it themselves," Tia laughs from the brush and has her Heracross Arm Thrusts a few more Zubat.

"Zangoose let's go!" Anna drops out of the tree and orders her Pokémon who is poised with a Crush Claw. She runs up and grabs for Celebi. "Give Celebi back!" She struggles.

Petrel refuses to let go, "Step off girl!" He tries to wrestle the cage away from her. "Get her!" He shouts to the grunts in the pitfall.

As they climb out Anna lets a Pokeball slide out of her pocket and roll to the hole. A bright flash appears before a few unfortunate grunts who were hanging on the side. "My guardian has other plans." Regigigas stares down and stomps it foot making the ground tremble and lose their hold on the edge.

"What in the world is that thing?" Petrel looks in awe with a slack jawed expression.

"Meet the legendary Regigigas," Anna proudly boasts her Pokemon.

"Two legendary Pokémon?" Petrel couldn't believe it. "Then twice the prizes for Team Rocket."

Meanwhile, Tia herself was locked in battle with half a dozen grunts herself. "Heracross Night Slash, Quilava use Ember!" She says fighting off a small army of Zubat and Rattata. "Tom, Erika how are you holding up?"

Tom's Lucario and Elekid are making quick work out of Team Rocket's Pokémon. "Oh you know, not too bad." His nonchalant attitude is quite out of place with the chaos surrounding him.

"I'm glad you're so calm about this Tom, but we really need to grab Celebi." Erika cautions. She runs forward just to get intercepted by more Pokémon.

"Anna has it covered, don't worry." Tom is pretty confident in her abilities.

Anna continues to struggle with getting Celebi's cage with her Zangoose fights off the Koffing trying to stop her. Petrel smiles and while her guard is down calls out another Pokémon to attack from the side. A Raticate pops out and begins to charge before getting blasted by Regigigas's Hyper Beam.

"Holy-" Petrel is almost too stunned for words.

Taking the opportunity Anna slams into Petrel and knocks Celebi's cage out of his hands and catches it for herself. "Zangoose use Crush Claw!" She throws the cage as Zangoose jumps up and breaks the bars.

Celebi cheers and flies off free back to Erika. "Celebi!" Erika smiles and runs up to her Pokémon. She wraps her arms around her legendary Pokémon and coddles him. "I'm so glad you're safe." She begins to tear up as Celebi wipes the tears from her eyes.

"You think this is over? There's at least a dozen more agents waiting to get you." He boasts. Something isn't right though. The men he so proudly boasted about are nowhere to be seen. "Where are they?" He shouts angrily.

One grunt stammers up chilled and covered in ice, "I'm sorry sir," he says before collapsing. In the blink of an eye a Pokémon runs between Petrel and the other trainers.

Tom's eyes widen intensely, "Suicune!" The Pokémon and reincarnation of the North Wind steps up to the four trainers and looks them over. Suicune nods to Celebi and Regigigas whom both nod in return as if having an unspoken respect for one another. Tia catches Suicune's eye. The Legendary Pokémon glances at her which makes Tia nervous.

"Suicune, the North Wind." Tia whispers.

Suicune turns around and without hesitation fires off an Ice Beam at Petrel who jumps out of the way. Celebi Quickly acts and uses it's time traveling ability. Petrel runs forward, but it's too late. Time advances around them until they were back in their own time with all their gear. Celebi rests himself in Erika's hands and closes his eyes.

"We made it back!" Tia cheers.

"Thank you, Suicune," Erika says quietly. "Please allow me to properly honor you." She walks back to the lake and finishes her ritual. She one again wades her way through the water with Celebi. Suicune walks beside her and stands as she honors the two Pokémon.

Tom and Anna stand back while the ritual commences. "Tom…" Anna whispers.

"Yeah?" He matches her hushed tone.

"Did you notice anything weird about Suicune?" She asks curious if she was the only one who was getting a strange feeling.

"He did seem very interested in Tia." He notes, "To be acknowledged by a legendary Pokémon is a huge honor. Also, it's a sign." He says seriously. "Too bad we didn't get to see Suicune in action. That Ice beam had to be only a fraction of his true strength."

"No doubt, but on the subject of Tia. Does that mean she could be like us?" Anna alludes to their ability to control legendary Pokémon.

Tom smiles, "This could be fun." His X-transceiver starts ringing. "Five missed calls?" He walks off into the woods and checks the last caller. "Lance?" He dials up Lance who shows up on screen.

"Finally, where have you been?" Lance looks quite concerned.

"Long story. What's up?" Tom speaks so casually about what just transpired.

"Another two legends have been captured. Moltres and Zapdos." Lance clarifies. "A couple days ago Falkner and Winona caught them in battle with two people from a group called Cipher." He explains the full situation.

"Really now? I take it the two Cipher members were that Ryoko and Haruka I fought back in Viridian. Should I tell Erika?" He asks cautiously. "I assume she'll need to be filled in on this." Tom points out.

Lance nods, "Are you with her?"

Tom nods back, "I also know Regigigas's trainer. Plus, Suicune just arrived." Lance looks amazed at Tom's luck. "Again, long story."

"Something is going on Tom; I don't like it." Lance looks worried.

He gives a subdued laugh, "I disagree; this will make things _very _interesting. I know another potential trainer."

"That girl you've been travelling with?" Lance knows right away. "Keep in touch, Morty's been anxious to battle her."

"_Just _battle her?" Tom asking knowing full well the kind of guy Morty is.

"Goodbye Tom," Lance hangs up.

"You can stop ease dropping Anna," Tom knew she was there from the beginning.

"Sorry, but it seemed important and I was interested." She gives a weak defense.

"Well at least you're honest," Tom smirks. "We need to get to Goldenrod City, come on." He walks back to Tia and Erika who just finished her ceremony.

The trio say their final goodbyes to Erika and Suicune runs off into the forest. "Thank all again, I don't know what I would have done without you there to help." Erika bows and smiles gratefully.

"Don't worry about it, we're just glad you and Celebi are safe." Tom says giving her one last hug goodbye. With that they head towards a clearing out of the Ilex Forest with yet another exciting adventure behind them.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. Even though this was a chapter where everyone came together to stop Team Rocket I wanted Anna to get a little bit more of the spot light before Goldenrod City. Just to show how strong of a trainer she is. Having Regigigas certainly helps too of course. Also yes, this arc was very much inspired by Pokemon 4ever. I had to, it's actually my favorite Pokemon movie followed by Heros and Jirachi Wishmaker.<p> 


	43. Chapter 42: New and Old Feelings

Chapter 42: New and Old Feelings

The young trainers continue on the path to Goldenrod when Anna spots a small building coming into view. "There it is!" She says excitedly and runs forward.

Tia and Tom run behind her, "Why are we running?" Tia asks really surprised by Anna's sudden burst of energy.

She stops at the door, "This is it, the Pokémon Daycare!" She cheers. She reaches for the door, "I'm too nervous." She whimpers and sinks her head.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Tia says opening the door. Inside is a quaint little home with a counter. An older woman with a gentle smile greets them, "Hello," she says so politely.

Tia feels a little awkward. "Hello ma'am, I noticed. _We_ noticed your daycare." Tia pulls Anna in the entrance with Tom close behind.

"Ah would you like to leave your Pokémon in our care while you're journeying?" She asks sweetly.

Tia raises her hands defensively, "No, no thank you. My friend her is actually why we're here." She pushes Anna forward.

She meets the old woman's stare, "My name is… Anna and… well…" She stammers. "I was hoping you'd teach me to be breeder!" She exclaims and bows her head.

The woman's smile sink slightly. "I appreciate that you'd want to learn, but we don't just teach anyone our breeding methods. Simply because it's not something everyone can master. Though, I'd be more than happy to see your skills." She offers.

Anna raises her head, "Of course, Blissey." She calls out her Pokémon. "I raised him ever since he was an egg."

The woman gets a closer look at Anna's Pokémon. She admires the luster of Blissey's skin, the strong stance, and kind hearted attitude her inherited from all of Anna's raising. She smiles widely, "He was bred very well. Very well, I will be willing to give you a chance." She steps out from behind the counter.

Anna's face lights up, "Thank you, ma'am!" She was absolutely giddy.

"I knew you could do it Anna!" Tia gives her a friendly embrace. Tia takes a second to think. "Actually, I have an egg. Maybe you could take a look at it?" She pulls out the egg from her bag. "I don't know when it's supposed to hatch?" Tia looks clueless.

The old woman examines it at a glance. "We can have a look for you dear. Anna if would be so kind to take her egg and follow me to an incubator."

"Yes ma'am," she replies nervous.

"And please call me Gale. Ma'am makes me sound so old." She laughs. The group head to a back room full of eggs and incubators, as well as a few Pokeballs.

Anna sets Tia's egg carefully in the incubator and places a small stethoscope she had in her bag on the egg. She gasps, "It's going to hatch soon!"

Gale looks surprised, "Well, this is exciting. Quite the perfect timing too." She says with a warm smile. She opens up the back door, "Haru, honey get in here. We have guests." She says to an older gentleman in the field.

The man walks in and notices all the fresh, young faces. "Why hello there," he says with a friendly and inviting smile. "What seems to be going on here?" He asks notices the egg.

"This is Anna, our new apprentice." Gale says happily. "And this an egg this young girl brought in."

His eyes light up. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you Anna, and you as well." He says to Anna and Tia.

"Nice to meet you too, my name is Tia by the way." She smiles. "This is Tom," she points to Tom who stood in the corner.

"Hey grandma and grandpa," he says casually.

"Hello dear, I almost didn't notice you with all the commotion." Gale laughs.

"Wait they're your grandparents?" Tia was completely thrown by this. "Why didn't you tell me?" Tia stops herself, "Oh that's right, because you're you!" She huffs.

"You want every detail of my life? I was born and raised here in Goldenrod when my dad was gym leader here. Want to know my blood type too?" He says annoyed.

"Still could have said something about your ties to Goldenrod City." Tia pouts.

"Tommy's always been like that." Gale jokes. "More importantly, the egg is about to hatch." She says excitedly.

"I can't wait," Tia's attention turns to her egg. It begins to rumble back and forth and slowly crack. The top breaks off as a small head peaks out with two small hands and feet emerge from each side.

Anna looks amazed, "It's a Togepi!"

Tia gazes at her new Pokémon, "She's so cute!" She and Tom says simultaneously. She looks at him confused.

"What? She is," he ducks back.

Tia picks up her Togepi and brings her in close. "Hi Togepi, I'm your trainer, Tia." She says happily. Togepi takes a moment to look at her and cheers as she waves her arms. "Aw, you're adorable." She rubs her cheek against Togepi's.

"We need to report his to Prof. Elm." Tom points out walking to a computer. He calls up Elm who eagerly answer. "Hello Tom, it's been a while." He says noticing who answered the phone. "How can I help you?"

Tia steps into frame, "Professor, we hatched the egg, it was a Togepi." Tia says happily showing off her Pokémon.

"That's great news, thank you. I trust you could give me a full report and tell how everything goes." He says excitedly about the idea of a full report on the training process.

Tia rubs the back of her head, "Yeah, I'm sure I could do that." She laughs nervously.

"Don't worry I'm just asking you report to me how your training is going every once in a while." He laughs. "I trust you can take care of Togepi."

"Tia nods, "Absolutely," she smiles and waves goodbye with Togepi. "Okay now that that's settled time to head to the gym!" She cheers.

"Good luck Tia," Anna smiles. "It's been great travelling with you two."

Haru speaks up, "Well Anna, we don't have anything really planned for you today. So feel free to look around the city and we'll begin work tomorrow." He says with a hearty smile.

Her face lights up once again, "Thank so much!" She runs out with Tia.

"Thanks again grandma and grandpa." Tom says calmly.

"You're welcome Tom," Haru says, "Whitney's been coming by waiting for you. Don't want to keep her waiting." He laughs.

"Great," he says sarcastically.

"We'll tell your dad you stopped by," Gale says to him on his way out.

Tom makes his way into Goldenrod City and is immediately wrapped up in the big city life once more. Tia and Anna were already long gone. Every time he visited he felt that hint of nostalgia. The city had changed so much, but also stayed the same in his mind. He still remembers all the places he'd go with friends to hangout. The Game Corner was huge when he was a little kid.

Then there it was, the Goldenrod City gym. Just like how he left it. He still remember where he left hand prints with his name in the fresh cement when they refurbished the exterior. He figured he at least had to see what it looked like now. Whitney changed it all the time so it was always different.

He walks in and notices the bright pink and floral décor everywhere. "_Girl it up a little more Whit._" He says to himself. A bunch of women are in the center of the gym dancing with their Pokémon for a workout. "_You've got to be kidding me._" He was too embarrassed to watch a second longer. He walks up when a girl his age runs out from the back.

"Tommy!" She shouts excitedly. Tom cringes as Whitney runs up to him. "I'm so happy to see you!" She says with her bubbly attitude and wraps her arms around him, squeezing him hard and very enthusiastically.

"Nice to see you too Whit." He forces out trying to sound genuine while grasping for air. "What did you do to the gym?" He asks her while trying to wrestle himself out of her grasp.

"I made it better of course. Doesn't just seem so much more vibrant and inviting?" Whitney looks quite proud with the new design.

"It was fine the way it was." He complains. "Look, can we talk outside this music is bugging me." He steps outside with Whitney close behind. "Anyway, seriously, there was nothing wrong with the old design." He argues.

"You gotta remodel every once and while, keep up with the times Tommy." She smiles her usual incurable smile.

"I'd hardly call that _hip_." He mutters knowing once Whitney's mind is set she'll never give up on it. "There is no way my dad would approve of this."

"Well first off, I'm the gym leader and second Norman loved the new design. Said it was, fresh and young." She says proudly.

"He never could say no to you, I guess. How's the gym been anyway?" He asks getting down to the more business aspects.

"Good, we've been getting a lot of trainers and making a lot off those dance exercise classes in there." She is proud to admit while Tom resisted the idea she did come up with a lot of good ideas. "So take that to the bank grumpy pants." She says childishly.

Tom rubs his forehead, "Fair enough, when do these classes end? My friend wants to challenge the gym." As he speaks Tia walks up.

"Hey Tom, I'm ready to take on the gym." She runs up with Anna close behind. "Who's your friend?" Tia asks naïvely

"You're Goldenrod City's gym leader: Whitney, aren't you?" Anna points out knowing at least who Goldenrod City's gym leader is.

Whitney nods takes note of Anna. She gives her a cheeky grin, "You're right, and what's your name?"

"Anna," Nice to meet you," she offers a hand. "I basically just moved here. Now that I think about it, I don't even have a residence yet." Anna laughs nervously at this rather large oversight.

"Hello?" Tia speaks up to no avail.

"It's always nice to meet newcomers, you'll absolutely love it here." Whitne's smile could practically out shine the sun.

"Hey!" Tia shouts.

"So what are your first impressions of Goldenrod City?" Whitney asks coolly.

"Stop ignoring me!" Tia shouts in her plight.

"Give it up Tia, Whit's not listening." Tom is just as annoyed. "Dance classes are going on inside. So odds are you're going to have to wait."

Tia moans and whines, "I want my battle!" She pouts.

"And I wish my dad's gym wasn't turned into a women's health club." Tom matches her foul mood. He looks at the gym. "I always loved this gym growing up. I would always tell my dad that I'd someday take over. Not quite how I expected everything to turn out." He laughs.

"Yeah, turns out you're a better champion then just plain, old leader." She looks at the ground and spots the little hand prints. "Aw, are those your tiny hands?" Tia giggles.

He laughs, "Yeah, god I was like five when they repaved this. I still remember that day." Tom smiles nostalgically.

"Tom?" Tia asks suspiciously.

"Yeah?" He replies when it suddenly hits him.

"Who's Anabel?" She asks turning her head towards him.

He shakes his head, "A memory, it's not important." He dismisses this.

"Bull, I know you're hiding something now." Tia further prods.

"Fine, Anabel is someone I use to know." He says bitterly.

She notices the irritated expression on his face. "Tell me what happened." She says sternly.

Tom looked at her surprised, not by what she said, but the nature and tone she said it in. He sighs, "We haven't spoken in almost ten years. Anabel is five years older than me so she started her journey before I did. Except she gave up and settled instead of trying to be the best like I did." He says bitterly.

"What do you mean; what happened to her?" Tia asks softly.

"I don't know why she did it. We never really talked after she left. She took on the Johto league and beat them easily. Eventually, she stopped calling and next thing I know she gave up on taking on every region." He looked up, "I am still disappointed." He spat at the ground.

"Maybe being a trainer wasn't for her? Why are you mad at her?" Tia asks knowing a thing or two about not really caring for the glamour of being a gym leader. At least when she was younger. "Even Anna's strong despite not taking on all the Pokemon Leagues." Tia raises a good point.

"Because we were supposed to be rivals!" He stomps the ground. "I wanted someone who could match my skills, she is the only one I know who could do that." His logic was petty, but he doesn't care. "We would always tell dad that we'd be the best trainers in the world!" He growls. Tia is amazed by this revelation. Tom; a boy only sixteen years old is considered one of the greatest trainers alive, but somehow that isn't enough.

"It's lonely at the top huh?" Tia says quietly. Tom lets out a deep breath and nods. "You're a piece of work Tom. You have training abilities and qualities I only wish I could have, but all you worry about it having someone to keep things interesting." Tia frowns. She walks up to him and stares him in the eyes, "Keep dreaming up this fantastical image of her and someone will take you by surprise." She warns.

His eyes widen, "Tia…" For the first time he saw something in her eyes. She always had that fighting spirit, but for once he saw that burning passion. "I can't believe it…" He says a loud. He may have found the one person to give him that challenge he's always desired.

Tia backs off, "Can't believe what?" She asks confused.

"I think I know who my true rival is." He declares, "This person just needs a little more time." He smirks. Tia smiles knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Well, we should probably get to that gym battle." Tia says much more casually. She looks for Whitney who has now disappeared. "Oh what the hell?" She shouts.

Whitney sits happily on a bench with Anna, "You're from Snowpoint you say; what's that like?" She asks playfully as she gets to know Anna better.

Anna stops to think, "Well, it's cold and very snowy… I'm not the best at describing my hometown. It's just awful," Anna admits.

Whitney laughs, "I understand, I'm not a fan of the cold either. So how did you end up travelling with Tommy anyway?" She asks again very interested in Anna's life.

"I actually started out travelling along with Tia. That's when Tom showed up and decided to join us." She explains the situation.

"Who's Tia?" Whitney asks confirming that she did in fact not even notice her presences back at the gym.

"That would be me!" She shouts angrily as she runs up. "You walked right past me to Anna." She balls her fist and shakes it in front of her face.

"Sorry," Whitney laughs nervously, "between seeing Tom and all the other excitement I guess I didn't notice."

Tom rejoins the group, "Good you found her," his biting sarcasm persists.

"Hi Tommy," she waves happily. "So Anna, what are you doing for the rest of the day?" She says with a huge grin on her face.

Tia jumps in front of her, "You! Me! Battle! Now!" Tia's one track mind was getting to her. "I will not be ignored anymore!"

"Huh, who are you?" She asks already forgetting Tia's existence.

"Ah!" She shouts, pulls at her hair, and collapses to her knees. "I give up," she says, dejected. She gets up and slumps off.

"Wow, that was actually painful to watch." Tom comments. "Sorry about Whit. She's a bit of an air head. On the bright side check it out." He points.

Anna finally speaks up, "I was just going to look around town and familiarize myself before heading to the day care tomorrow."

Whitney takes her hands, "That's great, I can give you the grand tour! I know this city like the back of my hand." She says cheerfully.

Anna smiles, "I would really appreciate that, thank you, Whitney." The two walk off.

"Well at least Anna's making a new friend." Tia does feel good seeing her friend is adapting well.

"Yeah Whitney will make her feel right at home here." He smiles.

Tia does too, "Good for her, Anna will be a great breeder with your grandparents." She nudges Tom's arm, "Our little Anna's all grown up." The two chuckle. "Wait!" It suddenly hits her. "What about my gym battle?" She shouts loudly.

"There's always tomorrow, let's get some rest and let those two have their fun." Tom suggests as he casually heads to the Pokémon Center.

Tia follows close behind with her Togepi. "Hey Tom, do you think you could help me?" She asks timidly.

He gives her a sideways glance, "Sure, what's up?" He asks curious.

She blushes, "It's about Togepi. What should I feed her? I mean she's a baby so does she have a special diet?" Tia was not use to raising Pokémon quite like Tom and Anna.

He smiles, "Here, I'll show you." He heads into the center and gets a room for them. He sits down at a table and grabs a lot of Pokémon food. "First thing you have consider a Pokémon's taste preference. That's why I've been helping feeding your Pokémon. Quilava like's spicy foods, Heracross prefers sour food, and Flaaffy likes dry food." He says while Tia listened attentively.

"Okay good to know. So how do we figure out Togepi's taste?" She asks trying to find some clear sign.

"Trial and error mostly, but if your bundle of sunshine is anything like mine. Then she'll probably prefer sweet tasting things." Tom hands Togepi a small bit of food. Togepi takes it in her small hands and eats it happily. He chuckles, "That a girl," he smiles and slowly builds an empathic link. "Also, Pokémon babies aren't like human babies. A Pokémon is born fully mature. Though mental and emotional maturity are a different matter." He cautions.

"So that's why Cleffa acts like a baby?" Tia points out.

Tom nods, "Yes, sure coddling her has had something to do with it, but largely she is fine. Togepi is definitely very excitable by nature." He deduces.

"How can you tell?" She asks before stopping herself. "Oh right, Empath." She rubs the back of her head.

He chuckles again, "My gift responds differently with Pokémon surprisingly. It's largely the same, but it makes communicating with them easier." He clarifies. "Don't need to worry about that though. You'll be fine regardless." He explains.

"So that's the basics?" She asks.

"Yes, also." He reaches into his bag and pulls out a small red device that unfolded and opened to the left. It was wider than it was tall and showed signs of age. "Okay, looks like Togepi has Charm and Extrasensory for its moves." He points out.

"Okay cool," she pauses. "Wait is that a Pokedex?" She asks in shock.

He gives her a confused glance, "Yeah, I'm a trainer too. I've had this dex since I was 10." He sets it on the table so she could get a better look.

She quickly glances. "You've seen over five hundred Pokémon!"

"You are way too easily surprised today." Tom points out. "Yes, I've been to every region. That's how I got to be World Champion." He says like this should be obvious.

"Hmm… good point." Tia admits. "So I guess after Johto I'm heading to Hoenn." She says determined.

Tom smiles, "Good, I wouldn't want you to just stop after the Indigo League. You'll love Hoenn." He thinks back to his home in Littleroot and the gorgeous weather.

"I guess I just need to wait until Whitney is at the gym though." She pouts.

"Yeah, I wonder what those two are doing." Tom ponders.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed! Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter and the series as a whole. Well, I think we have a new winner for longest chapter. This I feel like was a real turning point in the series. With the plot set up in the Ilex Forest arc being the first real complete change to the original games. The Three beast were themselves more of an homage to the Adventures manga than original plot point. I start introducing more original elements to the story. Which it's at this point I feel like the overall quality becomes more like what my style of writing is now. On the subject of comparing original drafts to final projects I recently started a blog where I will being posting highlights of what I wrote over the years in the Pokemon Sagas series and compare them to the published versions. You can check it out on my website: kingogreen dot com. Thanks FanFiction for not letting my insert Hyperlinks or .com addresses. Also, we've now hit over 100,000 words!<p> 


	44. Chapter 43: The Grand Tour

Chapter 43: The Grand Tour

"This is Goldenrod's famous department store." Whitney says proudly as she shows it off to Anna. "It just keeps getting bigger too. It's four floors and has just about anything you need."

Anna stares up in wonder at the giant store before they step in. "This is amazing," she says excitedly. "Wow, a full food court as well!" She runs over to the counters and ogles the food. "Oh a parfait." She licks her lips.

"Want one of Goldenrod City's famous parfaits?" A young man asks from across the register. "We have travelers from all over to try it." He says proudly.

"Really? I just moved here so I don't know much about the city yet." She admits with an innocent smile.

"Just moved in huh? Well, then here's one on the house." He kindly offered it up to her.

She puts her hands up, "Oh I couldn't," Anna says modestly.

The young man smiles, "Think of it as a welcoming gift to a new neighbor." He says more than happy to hand it over. "Oh is that our gym leader behind you?" He notices Whitney right behind her. "Would you want one too Whitney?"

"Sure thanks," she happily pays and takes a seat with Anna.

"What a nice guy," Anna comments.

"Yeah Mark's a real nice guy. Everyone in Goldenrod is so friendly." Whitney says blissfully.

"I can tell. Thank you Whitney, this is a lot of fun." She smiles and takes a bite of her parfait. "I already feel right at home."

"I'm glad I could help," Whitney gives her a cheerful grin as she continues to converse with Anna. "So tell me more about yourself." She says giving Anna her full attention.

"Well, I have a younger sister, I been to a lot of different regions learning about Pokémon, and I love Normal Types." She explains.

Whitney's eyes light up, "I love Normal Types too!" She cheers, "We should battle sometime." She says with a playful grin.

"That'd be fun," Anna smiles and continues eating.

From across the way two very familiar trainers watch. "It's going great." Tom says excitedly.

"This is a good parfait," Tia says ignoring him entirely.

"Focus, we have to make sure this goes well." Tom determination is a bit on the obsessive side.

"Why are you so worried?" Tia asks still annoyed Tom tricked her into this.

"Don't you want Anna to have a good first impression of her new home?" He says in a hushed tone.

"Well yeah, but stalking them probably isn't the best approach." Tia critiques as she continued eating and occasionally giving small bites to Togepi.

"We're not stalking them, I carefully planned out a series of events that will assure Anna's first day in Goldenrod is perfect. Also, so Whitney doesn't screw it up." He says looking intensely around them.

"_We're _not doing anything. _You're _being creepy." She notices a guy walking up to the two with balloons and hands them both one for free. "I'm guessing that was your doing too?" Tia gives him a sideways glance.

"Yes, my plan is working." He says happily.

"Go Tom, use Present." She says like this was a mock Pokémon battle.

"I'm okay with this, but want to go on record saying I'm not a Pokémon." He says not feeling as insult as he probably should be.

Tia sighs, "Duly noted," she goes back to her food and looks for Togepi. "Togepi?" She looks for her baby Pokémon. "Oh no, Togepi where are you?" She panics.

"There she is," Tom points at Togepi running up to Anna and Whitney. Cleffa excitedly leaped out of Tom's arms and followed Togepi. "No, Cleffa be careful!" The two begin pursuing their Pokémon.

Anna and Whitney both notice the baby Pokémon running up, "Aw," the two say in unison. They pick them up and set them on the table.

"Wait, Cleffa and Togepi?" She recognizes that these two belong to her friends. She looks over and notices Tom and Tia running up. "What are you two doing here?" She asks curiously.

Tia grabs Togepi and points at Whitney, "Whitney, I challenge-" Tom suddenly covers her mouth and pulls her back.

"Don't mind us, just continue doing whatever it is you are doing." He says nervous back up as Tia flails about. He takes her back to their table. Tia finally getting fed up bites his finger. "Ah you bit me!" He says finally letting go.

"Do that again and I won't be just a bite!" She shouts.

"Look I know you want a battle, but let Anna and Whitney have their day." Tom says trying to calm Tia down.

She pouts and sits down, "Fine…" She concedes and keeps eating.

Anna and Whitney continue after their little interruption. "Anyway," Whitney says ignoring Tia entirely. "What do you want to do next?" She asks eagerly.

Anna thinks for a moment, "I have heard a lot about Goldenrod's Game Corner." She smiles remembering the Veilstone Game Corner back in Sinnoh she had visited in her travels.

Whitney practically jumps out of her chair, "I love the Game Corner!" She stands up and grabs Anna's arm. "Come on, let's go!" She cheers before running off dragging Anna along with her.

The Game Corner was definitely one of the hottest attractions in town. Featuring bright lights and multiple signs with Pokémon décor on the outside. One of the brightest attractions at night. People of all ages visited, especially travelling trainers and tourists. The inside was just as glamorous and sported dozens of slot machines and prizes.

Anna and Whitney sat by one another and played a few rounds laughing the whole time. "When I was growing up my friends and I would come here all the time. We'd play for hours."

"Did Tom ever join you?" Anna asked learning a lot about her friend from Whitney.

Whitney nods, "Tommy was the worst; he'd spend all day in here and still walk out barely breaking even. He would always go on about how he wanted a Dratini." She laughs.

From across the room Tom continues to spy on them and nods approvingly. "Perfect, their having a lot of fun." He says to himself.

"I'll take the Swords Dance TM please." Tia says politely.

Tom looks over at her as she collected her prize. "Tia focus, we have to keep an eye out." He says quickly hiding behind the machine.

"Tom this is getting ridiculous. Anna is perfectly capable of having a good time with people without you looking over her shoulder. Tia says sounding like the mature one for once.

"I'm more worried about Whit; she tends to come on a little strong and I'm afraid that'll scare Anna off." He says nervously.

Tia sits beside him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I know you can't help it, but sometimes a person can care a little too much. I want things to go was also, but we can't force it. Plus, do you really think Whitney could leave that bad of an impression?" She raises a valid point. She looks over at the two having a lot of fun. "Honestly, the two of them are having a blast. I'd say these two will be great friends. This whole day has gone better than any dates Gary and I had for that matter. Whitney's a ditz, but she seems like a good friend." She chuckles.

Tom sighs, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right." He admits.

"What the hell is that supposed to me?" Tia interjects.

"Whit is responsible enough. Let's go." He gets up and walks off with Tia close in toe.

"Don't ignore me!" She pouts.

Tom steps out and looks around the city. "So what should we do now?"

Tia has all but given up on getting Tom to explain himself. "I heard that Goldenrod City's radio Tower is a pretty cool attraction." Tia points to a little booklet she has.

Tom nods, "Oh yeah, the radio tower is awesome, maybe we'll be lucky enough to give us a tour." He guides Tia to the large tower which looks to have men moving lots of equipment into it. "Wow, they sure are busy."

An older man walks up behind them, "Oh yes, we're hard at work on enhancing our radio signals. Goldenrod's radio tower will be the first radio tower to transmit a signal all over the world." The man wears a proud and ambitious smile.

Tia looks at him for a good while before replying, "I'm sorry, but you look familiar somehow." She can't put her finger on it, but she definitely knows him.

He laughs, "Why I'm the founder and man in charge of this radio tower. You've probably seen my face on many posters throughout the region."

"Yeah Tia, he's pretty famous." Tom steps aside lets the man step in.

"Please allow me to give you a tour." He politely offers.

"Thank you Mr… sorry I don't know your name." Tia laughs nervously.

"Please, just call me Peter." He says pleasantly as he gives them a tour of the building. The first floor is just a reception area, but the second floor is where a lot of the recording booths are. "Here we have many of our record studios for broadcasting our various radio programs."

Tia looks around as sees a man stepping out with a woman. "Professor Oak!" Tia runs up to him excitedly.

"Oh Tia, this is a pleasant surprise. I take it you're here for a gym badge already." Professor greets her happily when he spots Tom. "Oh I see you two are still traveling together as well."

"Yeah she's nothing without me." Tom jokes as he walks up.

"Oh whatever," she rolls her eyes and smirks.

The woman next to Oak giggles, "Good to see you haven't changed Tom."

"It's nice to see you again too Mary. Or should I say DJ Mary?" He gives her a friendly hand shake.

"You just know everyone don't you?" Tia smiles and is a little surprised by his connections.

"We grew up together, she was one of the older kids we'd all hang out with. I remember you always wanted to be a DJ." Tom just continues to feel quite nostalgic.

"Well, it's been great seeing you again, but we have to get going." Mary ducks out with Professor Oak close behind.

"Well this has been nice, but we should get back now." Tom suggests as Tia continues to look around at all the golden records on the wall.

She nods, "Yeah, thank you Mr. Peter." She turns around, but he doesn't seem to be around anymore. "He must be a busy guy." She shrugs and walks out with Tom.

They head out and make their way back to the Pokemon Center. They both head in the room and lay on their respective beds. "I gotta ask; what was it like dating Gary?" Tom had to know. Having known Gary he was surprised he could ever be gentlemanly.

Tia lets out a light giggle, "It was give and take. He knows how to treat a lady or at least tries to. We never did much other than occasionally head up to Viridian. Growing up in a small town like Pallet didn't give us much to do. We mostly would hang out on Route 1 or Viridian. I never really saw him much after he left on his journey. The next time I saw him was when he became the Indigo League champion." She smiles and lies back.

"Then I came along and throw a wrench in that." Tom adds with a chuckle.

Tia shakes her head, "We celebrated; him and I. That was probably one of the few romantic nights we ever had. That night we promised we'd have another night like that in a week. I was so excited and I remember feeling that night probably wouldn't have ended with a kiss at the door." She laughs and feels a little embarrassed to admit that little fact. "Unfortunately, I found out that he was beaten and left immediately for another region. He never even said goodbye." Tia can look back fondly on it now and not feel so bitter about Gary's immature reaction.

Tom stops to process this all, "So wait, I blocked you?" He points out surprised.

She proceeds to throw a pillow at his face. "_That's _what you took away from all this?" She says rolling her eyes.

"Now wonder you're such a prude." He says like it all made sense now.

"I will kill you!" She throws her other pillow at him.

The evening gradually turned to night and Whitney alongside Anna were close to concluding their time together. "I had a really great time." Anna said sweetly as they stood on the pier. "Goldenrod has a lot of fun things to do." Anna lets the sea breeze pass through her hair as she gazed at moon over the water.

Whitney stands close beside her and does the same. "I really enjoyed myself too. It's been a while since I could just relax and spend time with someone new." Whitney sighs peacefully. The stress of a gym leader wore on everyone and having a reprieve was nice. Though she was still oblivious to Tia's multiple attempts to challenge her.

The two stand around and admire the calm serenity of the night. "I think I'm really going to love it here in Goldenrod." Anna was happy to admit.

"I'm glad, I'm really happy I met you. I know you'll be at the daycare most of the day, but do you think you could stop by the gym again tomorrow?" She asks excitedly.

Anna smiles softly, "I'll be sure to when I have free time."

"Great, I'll be at the gym. Maybe we can check out the Radio Station together too!"

Anna heads back to the center with a big smile on her face.

"Something tells me the day went well." Tia jokes as she gauges Anna's expression. "Have fun?" She asks jokingly.

Anna takes a seat on her bed and nods, "Yeah, I think I'm really going to love it here in Goldenrod City."

Tom smiles with his usual toothy grin, "That's great," he pats her on the back.

"See and you didn't even have to interfere Tom." Tia points out. "So you two going to hang out again?" Tia asks the burning question.

"She said she wants to show me the radio tower when I get some free time." She says cheerfully.

"That's great, I'm sure my grandparents won't need you all day." Tom says happily.

"Yeah, but not before my gym battle." Tia says with a twinge of aggression. "She can't ignore me forever." She says determined.

"You'd be surprised," Tom says knowing her all too well. "Whit's amazingly oblivious at times. She has such a one track mind." He says still not being her biggest fan despite growing up together.

"I will get that battle don't worry." Tia says confidently.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review giving your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. So this kind of worked out perfectly. Next week will not be the continuation of the story and Tia's gym battle, because it will be Christmas Eve. So you know what that means. Christmas special chapter! Yes, another non-canon holiday special and trust me this one will be even more over the top than the Halloween special. So next week is Pokemon Sagas: Tia's Tales: Christmas Special chapter: The Fight before Christmas. Needs more colons clearly.<p> 


	45. Christmas Special

Pokémon Sagas: Tia's Tales

Christmas Special: The Fight before Christmas

After a long and cold journey through the frigid north of Sinnoh the three young trainers make their way to Snowpoint City. The City of Snow and Anna's home town. Anna looks on happily and runs up to the gate of her hometown. The excitement of returning home almost made her forget the harsh coldness all around her.

"We're here!" Her smile beams brightly as she motions to the gate of the snow covered city. She takes the lead as Tom and Tia follow close behind in their multiple layers of bundled clothing.

"That's great Anna. Now can we find the Pokémon Center so we can warm up before we freeze to death?" Tia is not particularly fond of the cold terrain and Tom himself is not very enthusiastic about it either.

The three quickly retreat into a nice, warm Pokémon center where they toss off the excessive layers and begin to warm themselves by a quaint, little fireplace in the corner of the center. The décor this time of year is very festive as the whole center is adorned with reds and greens and great big Christmas tree. "I always loved Snowpoint during Christmas time." Anna says with a warm smile.

Tia helps herself to glass of Hot Chocolate and looks around with a puzzled look. "Wait, why are we in Snowpoint City? Weren't we just in Goldenrod City?" Tia seems to be a little delirious from all the cold weather.

"Tia, I have no idea what you're talking about. We decided to celebrate Christmas in Snowpoint." Tom sips on his own mug and shares tiny sips with Cleffa in his lap.

"What even is Christmas?" Tia doesn't even know what Christmas is; the poor deluded girl. "Oh no, we're in another holiday special aren't we?" Tia groans as she so causally shatters the fourth wall. "Stop doing that!" So now she feels the need to yell at the narrator? The audacity of this girl, really. Didn't your mother teacher you better manners than this?

"This whole thing is pretty meta." Anna observes from the sidelines.

"Yeah, can we please just accept this and move on?" Tom attempts to get the story back on track.

Tia wishes to protest, but she accepts with a huff and sips more of her drink. "I don't know why we even have Christmas? Our God is a Pokémon!" Oh shut up. "Make me!"

Suddenly the doors to the center come sliding open and a young girl, about fifteen steps on through. She wears nothing more than white, short sleeved blouse, as well as short, brown skirt, and a blue coat wrapped around her waist. She looks around the center and focuses in on Anna. She lets out an excited cheer, "Sis!" She runs up and wraps her arms around Anna.

"Candice, how have you been?" Anna affectionately hugs her younger sister. "You been taking good care of the gym?" The two separate and sit beside one another.

Candice nods happily, "Yeah, things have been going great here. How have you been?"

Anna begins to fill her sister in on all her adventures, "These are my friends Tom and Tia. They're both very strong trainers."

"Nice to meet you both, and welcome to our city. You're lucky; Snowpoint is very lively during the holidays." She motions them to look out the window at all the holiday decorations setup around the city. All the trees covered in bright lights and tinsel, and in the distance the gym itself is glowing like a Christmas tree. The city is full of people with gifts and Christmas themed attire as well. Everyone seems so happy and at peace. "Christmas is everyone's favorite time of the year. Since today's Christmas Eve we are all eagerly getting ready for the arrival of Santa Clause." Candice speaks with an incurable smile on her face. It proves to be quite infectious as everyone begins to feel the holiday cheer.

"This is pretty nice actually," Tia admits as she sits back in her seat drinking her Hot Chocolate. She calls out her Togepi who nestles in her lap peacefully.

"Well it was great seeing you again sis, but I have to get back to the gym." She heads for the door and looks back. "Don't forget to go to bed early so Santa Clause will visit." She giggles and heads out.

"Yeah I think going to bed is a good idea." Tom suggests as he stretches and picks up Cleffa. "All that walking through the snow has me beat." He yawns and heads up to the room. So the trainers all nestle in their beds for long winter's rest.

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the city not a Pokémon was stirring, not even a Skitty. The stockings were hung in the Center with care, in hopes that Santa Claus soon would be there. The trainers were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of Pokémon battles played out in their heads. And Togepi in Tia's bed, and Cleffa in a Christmas cap, had just settled their brains for a for a long winter's nap. When out in the city there arose such a clatter, Tia sprang from her bed to see what was the matter.

"What was that?" Tia mutters to herself.

"If it's Team Galactic tell them to come back later. It's way too late for this crap." Tom groans from his bed.

"Who?" Tia is puzzled.

"Just go check." He says before slipping back to sleep.

Away to the window she flew in a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the luster of mid-day to objects below. When, what surprise she was struck, a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny Winter Form Sawsbuck. With a little driver, so lively and happy with cause, she knew in a moment it must be Santa Claus. More rapid than Braviary his coursers they came, and he whistled, and shouted, and called out his name.

"Delibird!"

"Santa Claus is a Delibird?" Tia is a bit shocked by this discovery, but sure enough there he was in his sleigh. On such a wondrous night Delibird was here to deliver presents to all the good little girls and boys the world over.

Though the Christmas cheer was not shared by all. From a top of Lake Acuity lives a less than pleasant creature. A tall, green fellow with a wicked scowl. This creature is a Pokémon nor a human. He is simply the Grinch. "I must find a way to stop Christmas from coming." He looks down on all the residence of Snowpoint with great distain. He dreaded the holidays and he couldn't stand the holiday cheer. All the toys and singing. The singing and good tidings practically made his stomach turn and his shriveled heart run colder than ever. It was in this moment the Grinch had a wonderfully evil idea. "I will make look as if Christmas never came. I will dress up as Santa Claus and steal all the presents in the city. Then the people of Snowpoint will have nothing to celebrate and they will all be sad." His face contorts into a twisted grin as the plan unravels in his mind.

"You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch, but your plan is far too simple minded." From behind the Grinch comes the voice with a thick, Scottish accent.

"Who dares question my brilliant plan?" The Grinch turns to the offender.

The man was not a man at all, but oddly a duck with a top hat and can. "You may call me Scrooge McDuck. I have a plan to stop Christmas for all time." He laughs.

The Grinch is intrigued by Scrooge's pitch. "Go on,"

"By stealing the present that only makes them sad one day out of the year, but if we defeat that dastardly Delibird, we'll end Christmas forever!" He laughs wildly. "No more days off for the holidays or festive cheer, and Christmas donations."

"How do you know this plan will work?" Grinch seems awfully leery of Scrooge McDuck's plan.

"Excuse me, but who is the one with a vault full of money here?" Scrooge pompously flaunts his own exorbitant wealth.

The Grinch rubs his chin skeptically, "Yes, but how will be take care of that pesky Delibird?"

"Why I have a plan." Scrooge claps his hands and from the surrounding forest comes an army of tall, tree-like Pokémon. "Over the years I have accumulated an army of Abomasnow just for such occasion." Scrooge looks down on the city with a mischievous grin. "Go my army of Abomasnow! Take care of that Delibird and get all the presents!"

The large gathering of Abomasnow begin making their way quietly into the city as close in on Delibird who was happily fluttering from roof top to roof top. Delibird is not oblivious to this however he quickly runs to his sleigh and unlatches the reins on the Sawsbuck so they could help defend him.

However, this is another prying eye who is quick to act as well. From the Center Tia watches as the Pokémon slowly begin invading. She quickly gets dressed and bundled up and grabs her Pokeballs. "Tom, Anna wake up!" She shakes them both as they sleep and refuse to budge. She grits her teeth and decides she has to save Christmas by herself.

From the outside an intense battle in unfolding while the sleeping residence of the city are all none the wiser. Sawsbuck do a pretty good job fighting off the horde of Abomasnow, but they there is still power in numbers. They fight them off with powerful Jump Kicks and slam into them with furious Double-Edge attacks, but the Abomasnow just keep coming.

Tia finally steps in and calls out her always reliable starter: Quilava. "Alright Quilava let's light up these Christmas trees with Ember!" This attack deters them a bit and does a hefty amount of damage to this caught in the attack. Even this seems to do very little to stop the neigh endless amount of Abomasnow before here. Tia focuses in on the masses front of her and has Quilava hope into the fray. "Quilava use Flame Wheel!" Quilava whirls into the crowd and knocks out quite a few Abomasnow with his powerful assault of flames. Unfortunately, this puts Tia's Pokémon into a very vulnerable position. Several Abomasnow begin to pelt Quilava with Wood Hammer and Ice Shard. The damage is minimal, but it's adding up quickly.

Tia is beginning to wonder how she'll get her Pokémon out of this mess when a bright flash of light strikes the overly aggressive Christmas trees. She looks over and spots a man brown overcoat, messy, brown hair, and a brown suit jacket underneath.

"Evil Christmas trees? Not very original now are we?" The man steps up with a smile and his hands in his pockets. "Nasty things, but at least these ones aren't trying to slice up people."

Tia looks at the mysterious man in shock. "Who are you?"

He laughs, "I'm The Doctor."

"Doctor Who?" Suddenly as if out of nowhere faint music beings to play that sounds like it was being played by a Theremin.

"I always love when people ask that." He smiles and quickly turns around. "No time to explain; just call me the Doctor."

"Well Doctor, what should we do?" Tia asks as Quilava crawls out of the fray and back to Tia's side.

The Doctor thinks for a moment as he watches his Pokémon, a Klink, trying to fight off the army of Abomasnow as they slowly advance towards them. "Well, times like these I suggest we run for our lives!" The Doctor takes off running in a strangely comedic fashion.

The two run for the Pokémon Center and quickly lock the doors behind them. "What is going on here Doctor?" Tia can't even begin to understand what is going on.

"Turns out those Christmas trees are out to get Santa bird. Clever, but I'm more clever…er." The Doctor frantically paces about the room. "By the way have you seen a blue box around? We could really use that right about now."

"Okay first off those are Abomasnow. Second, that's a Delibird. Third, what are you rambling about blue boxes for?" Tia shouts at him like he's deranged.

Tom yawns and comes down the stairs, "Tia it's three in the morning. What are you doing up?" He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and notices her company. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor!" He replies excitedly.

"Doctor-" Tom is suddenly cut off.

"Just the Doctor." Tia groans.

"Hey, I said I like that part." The Doctor whines.

"I don't care. Look Tom, long story short there is an army of Abomasnow outside trying to attack Santa Delibird and his Sawsbuck."

"Someone had a little too much Egg Nog last night." Tom is less than convinced by her very outlandish tale.

"Oh there's Egg Nog." The Doctor heads for the kitchen before Tia grabs him by the collar. "What? We need Egg Nog, it's Christmas time. Christmas without Egg Nog is like going to a party without a banana."

"Geez what planet are you from?" She asks sarcastically.

"Gallifrey," he responds as if this is somehow the norm to him.

His response definitely confuses Tia, since this is clearly Earth they are standing upon. "Gallifrey? What are you talking about?"

"I'm from Gallifrey, the home of Time Lords like me." He responds as chipper as ever and pulls out a strange pen shaped device.

"Wait, so you're…"

"An alien, yes. Technically I'm also from a different dimension and time." None of this seems strange to him at all.

"Right, so I'm going back to bed. Because this clearly has to be some sort of fever dream." Tom is even going to try and understand what is going on right now.

"Oh no you don't. You're not leaving with the crazy man." Tia gripes as the Doctor begins hovering his device over everything in the room as it hums.

"I'm not crazy, a bit mad, but not crazy." He walks over to the door and notices someone running through the crowd of Abomasnow.

A young girl around Tom and Tia's age with blue hair in a white cap, red winter coat, and matching white scarf. She quickly slides in the doors to the Center and slams it shut before the Abomasnow can get in. "How could you leave me in the woods like that?" She shouts and tries to strangle the Doctor.

"You said you knew your way through the woods just fine. Find anything out about the Abomasnow attack?" He pays no mind to her plight.

She groans, "Yes, turns out it's some weird green thing and a talking Ducklette."

The Doctor rubs his chin, "I'm guessing that's weird, not normal weird, but _weird_ weird." He looks around. "Do Ducklette talk?"

Tom continues to look absolutely lost, "No, and what's this about a green thing? It is a Pokémon?"

"No, this one talked too." The girl explains. "Doctor who are these people?"

"Oh right, where are my manners?" He looks at the two of them with a puzzled look. "I have no idea. I never caught your names."

Tom literally face palms, "I can't even right now. It's way too early for this crap."

"Oh right, I heard you two mention your names." He points at Tia, "This is Tom," he then points to Tom, "and this is Tia." He then pauses, "Flip that maybe?" He rubs his device on top of his head.

"I'm Tia!" She exclaims.

"I'm going back to bed." Tom slumps away, but is quickly pulled back by Tia.

"Ignore him, I'm Dawn. The sane one in this duo." She pleasantly shakes Tia's hand. She looks back outside as the Abomasnow have moved from the door and refocused their attention on Delibird. "Oh no, we have to help him. How strong is your team?" She looks to Tia for help.

"Not strong enough to defeat all those Abomasnow." Tia looks very worried as she thinks of a plan.

"Dawn, do you think your Mamoswine could take care of them?" The Doctor asks, but they three are interrupted when Tom silently walks past and walks outs the door. "Where is he going?"

Tom walks out and notes all the Abomasnow. He then spots the Grinch and Scrooge McDuck running up with dastardly smiles. "Oh looks like we have a hero." Scrooge taunts him.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to poke the Ursaring?" He snarls and pulls out a single Pokeball.

"Oh someone thinks they can stop us. It's too late now boy." The Grinch gives him a evil smile showing off his nasty teeth.

He sighs, "I'm tired, you're trying to ruin Christmas, it's freezing, and I don't know what you two are. And frankly that's pissing me off! Flygon!" He calls out his ever faithful trump card to deal with the army of Grass/Ice Types. "Flamethrower!"

In an instant Flygon takes to the air and rains fire down on the unsuspecting Abomasnow. They immediately scramble and try to extinguish the flames that are consuming them. This brutal assault takes out almost all the Pokémon except for a lucky few who ran away in a panic.

Tom looks back at the Grinch and Scrooge. "One shot. Return Flygon; champ out!" He calls back Flygon and walks back in as if nothing happened. Without a word he walks back up stairs and back into bed.

"Huh, that works." The Doctor takes the wins when he can. "He's…"

"World Champion, should have probably mentioned that." Tia shrugs nervously.

"Well, I'll take it. Now let's get those two and we'll be off. Allons-y!" He happily walks back outside with Tia and Dawn close in toe.

Scrooge and the Grinch are still too stunned to react until they spot the Doctor and his companions. "Hold it right there, we're not done yet!" Scrooge pulls out a Pokeball and calls out a Glalie.

"We can still stop Christmas yet." The Grinch calls out a Mightyena of his own.

"My Quilava will be more than enough to stop your Glalie." Tia is determined to end this nightmare before Christmas once and for all.

"Right and Klink will be able to handle that dog thing too." The Doctor is not to familiar with Pokémon.

"Mightyena," Dawn points out.

"Yes, Mighty-thingy." He points triumphantly. "Use your Electric-shocky attack." Klink looks quite confused by the command.

"Thunder Shock," Dawn rolls her eyes.

"That thing!" Klink complies with Dawn's directions and attacks Mightyena with a sudden burst of electricity.

"Quilava take care of Glalie with a Flame Wheel!" Quilava quickly attacks with a whirling burst of fire at Glalie for a very hefty amount of damage.

"Glalie hit that Quilava with an Ice Beam!" Scrooge gets into a direct battle with Tia.

Tia smiles as the Ice Beam charges up and fires from Glalie's mouth. "Ember!" Quilava stands in the line of the attack and fires back with Ember. The tongues of fire meet with the array of ice and clash. The blistering heat collides with the freezing cold beam and instantly vaporize the attack creating a veil of mist.

"Klink if you can see use your Thunder Shock on that Mightyena." Klink thankfully can make out the shadow of Mightyena and fires off another Thunder Shock.

"Assurance Mightyena." The Grinch orders his Pokémon to attack Klink. The damage it already received was fuel for the attack as Assurance became all the more Pokémon thanks to the extra damage. Klink is not faring too well in this battle.

Unlike Tia who is one step of Scrooge at almost every turn. "I can't see think in this mist. Glalie keep firing Ice Beams until you hit it!"

"Quick Attack!" Quilava charges forward, Tia doesn't quite know where Quilava is, but she trusts her Pokémon has the same plan in mind. "Finish it with one last Ember!" Sure enough, Quilava was right where she hoped him to be. The attack from behind takes Glalie by complete surprise and Tia's Pokémon stands triumphant.

The Doctor isn't doing quite as well as he mostly has his Klink on the defensive. Meanwhile, the Grinch is more than happy to continue his assault. "Give that Klink a Bite it won't soon forget!"

"Quick Attack!" Tia quickly intervenes and knocks Mightyena away. "Now Doctor!"

"Right, Gear Grind Klink." The Doctor's attack is right on the money as it finishes off Mightyena. "Now that's a good match there. I'm getting a hang of all this Pokémon battling thing aren't I Dawn?" He seems quite proud of his rather lackluster display.

She shakes her head, "Everyone has to start somewhere I guess. Thank you for all your help Tia." Dawn is very grateful to Tia. "Tell Tom thanks too. Fighting off an army of Abomasnow is not easy, but it made it look like a breeze."

"Right, well we'll be off now." He calls back Klink and puts his hands back in his pockets. "Come along Dawn, I heard Pacificlog is wonderful this time of year."

"You two travel together?" Tia can only imagine the headaches.

"It's eccentric, but it's never a dull moment. We're companions. Maybe we'll meet again someday Tia." Dawn and Tia shake hands one last time and go their separate ways. Dawn and the Doctor into the woods and Tia back to bed.

"You didn't want to stay for Christmas Doctor?" Dawn asks quizzically.

He shakes his head, "Nah, I got my Christmas special for the year. Besides, I'm in the mood for the tropics and Banana Daiquiris."

Dawn just smiles and rolls her eyes as they journey deeper into the woods. Leaving Tia and this crazy adventure behind. The Grinch and Scrooge McDuck learned their lesson and decided to give up their evil ways. Scrooge returned to business as usual and the Grinch retreated to his cave.

All the while the morning quickly rolls around and the trainers as well as the whole city got to celebrate Christmas. Delibird even made sure to leave and extra special gift for Tia under the tree this year as well.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter and this series as whole. So this was definitely a bit more out there than the last one. The Grinch, Scrooge McDuck, and the Tenth Doctor; I doubt anyone expected that. I wanted this to be a huge mash up of Christmas specials. As for the inclusion of the Doctor, maybe you'll see him and Dawn again in the future? Who knows? Keep reading and you might find out. Also, no. I was not doing any form of drugs when I thought up this idea. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing?<p> 


	46. Chapter 44: The Unstoppable Force

Chapter 44: The Unstoppable Force

Tia wakes up in a panic. She pants and clasps her chest as she looks around the room.

"Tia are you alright?" Tia violent reaction is enough to startle Tom awake.

She takes a deep breath, "Yeah, I think so." She looks around and walks to the window. "Oh thank god where's in Goldenrod City!"

Anna rubs the sleep out of her eyes and walks up to Tia. "Of course, where else would we be?" Anna is beginning to wonder what kind of delusions Tia is having.

"Sorry, I just had the weirdest dream. We all went to Snowpoint City to celebrate Christmas and there was this green, furry thing and a talking duck. Then so guy called The Doctor showed up and he was like an alien or something." She vividly describes her dream.

Tom puts his hand on her forehead. "You're not running a fever. You didn't eat any strange substances last night did you?"

"What's Christmas?" Anna is just as confused and worried about her friend's mental well-being. "This sounds like that time you had a weird dream where we went to Lavender Town."

"Tia are you okay?" Tom seems to be calling her mental health into question.

"I'm not crazy!" She shouts back in her defense. She shakes her head, "Never mind, just forget it. I'm getting ready and going to do some training." She storms out of the room in a huff.

Tia runs off and gets ready for her day. She decides to follow Anna to the Daycare so she could train outside of the city.

"So what's your plan for taking on Whitney?" Anna casually sparks up conversation.

Tia looks deep in thought, "I have a few ideas, I heard that her Miltank is no joke. Heracross is my best bet though."

"Well good luck to you then." Anna waves and heads to the Daycare while trainers about half way between the city and the daycare.

After about an hour of strategizing and practicing Tia has finally perfected her plan. "Okay Quilava I think I'll start with you, then I'll go with you Flaaffy." She looks over her team and pats Heracross. "You'll be my secret weapon. She'll probably have a counter for Fighting Types so I don't want to send you out too early. As for you Togepi, I want you to watch everyone closely so you learn to battle like they do." She says picks up her baby Pokémon. "Okay everyone that's our plan, I'm sure you'll all do great." They all cheer before she calls them back to their Pokeballs.

"Good strategizing," a voice from behind her says. "I'll be watching your battle closely."

Tia immediately recognizes the voice. "A step behind me again Silver?" She says confidently as she turns around.

Silver pulls out his badge case and reveals the Plain Badge. "I got mine yesterday. I was surprised you hadn't already made it to Goldenrod." He mentions not knowing their mishap with Team Rocket in the Ilex Forest.

"Yeah, that's a long story. Good job on the victory." She offers a friendly hand shake.

He shrugs it off, "If you weren't about to challenge the gym I'd take you right here." He shoots her a determined gaze as he wishes to battle her.

"Oh my, how bold Silver." Tom says walking up behind them and taking the statement completely out of context.

"That's not what I meant!" He growls before walking off.

"Man, what is with him?" Tia asks confused.

"Guy with a chip on his shoulder, for what it's worth he seems to respect you as a rival. He even seemed happy to see you way deep down." Tom points out making sure Silver was out of ear shot.

"He's a strong trainer; I don't mind having a rival." She says with an optimistic smile. She begins heading to the gym. "I'll show him how good I am when I wipe the floor with Whitney." She says determined as ever.

Tom cautions, "Tia don't underestimate Whit. She runs one of the toughest gyms in the region." Tom knew first hand Whitney's strength.

"I know, I've already got a strategy." She gives him the thumbs up and heads off with Tom. Silver himself appears along the way and follows behind.

"I'm a little surprised you're here Silver." Tom says with a smirk on his face; knowing exactly why he stuck around. "It's nice having a rival isn't it?" He jokes.

Silver turns up his nose, "I don't see her as a rival. I see her as someone I need to surpass to beat Team Rocket." He says stubbornly.

Tia runs up to the door and aguishly opens it up giving her usual bold declaration. "Whitney, I am here to challenge you to a gym battle!" She shouts into the gym.

From across the gym Whitney is sitting with Anna talking about their plans. "So I was thinking we could check out the radio station today." She says cheerfully.

"Hello?" Tia shouts trying to get her attention.

"Hello," she says annoyed, "Sorry, the gym is closed today." She blatantly denies Tia's challenge.

"What the hell?" Tia says now officially livid off. "You can't just deny my challenge for personal reasons." She complains. She may not know the rules of being a gym leader, but this seemed unfair even to her.

"Well, I'm the gym leader so your argument is invalid." She brushes her off.

Tom walks up just as annoyed as Tia and speaks up, "Excuse me, I'm the champion," he points at Whitney, "_your _argument is invalid." He says boldly. "Your plans can wait until the match is over." He says not wanting to interfere, but he had no choice.

"Are you seriously pulling rank on me Tommy?" She stomps over to him.

He gets right in her face, "Yes, I am." His eyes glare down at her like daggers.

"Fine," she takes her spot at the opposite end of the gym. She stares down Tia, but quickly snaps her finger. "Oh wait, we don't have an official league referee!" She says exploiting a loophole.

"This is an official Pokémon League Gym battle between challenger: Tia and the Goldenrod City Gym leader: Whitney." Tom says loudly from the sidelines.

"Dang it Tommy," Whitney whines. "Whatever, I'll win this one and then we can visit the radio tower." She cheers.

Anna walks to the bleachers on the side behind Tom and laughs nervously, "Thank you, but you know if you don't that fine too." She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Which of her friends should she root for.

Silver sits near Anna and rolls his eyes, "How on Earth is _she_ a gym leader?"

Anna rubs the back of her neck, "_Who should I cheer on?_" She asks herself nervously. "Silver, who are you going to be cheering for?" She asks still feeling awkward.

"I don't cheer," he says stubbornly as he usually does. "Hey Tia, don't lose!" To him that was encouragement.

"Thanks Silver," she says sarcastically back at him. Tia stares down Whitney. "I'm ready to win." She says with a cocky smirk.

"This is a one-on-one gym match and the battle will continue until one battlers team is unable to continue. Send out your first Pokémon. Also, Whit this totally something you could do without a referee." Tom says like an official referee never breaking his tone.

"Go Quilava!" Tia calls out her starter. Quilava stands poised as his flames rise on his back. She waited to see what Whitney would start with.

"Go Clefairy!" She calls out her Fairy Pokémon.

"Begin!" Tom declares.

Tia immediately takes action, "Quilava use Ember!" She commands. In a flash Quilava runs forward and sends small embers towards her enemy.

Whitney smiles and casually calls out an action. "Clefairy jump out of the way and hit it with a DoubleSlap." Clefairy gracefully bounces over the embers and charges towards Quilava ready to attack. DoubleSlap connects and dazes Quilava.

"Shake it off Quilava and while Clefairy's close hit it with a Quick Attack." Tia anticipated Clefairy getting in close so she naturally had a counter to it. Quilava lunges forward in a blur and hit Clefairy.

"Not bad," Whitney had to admit. "Clefairy use Metronome." She says knowing the gamble of using Metronome. Clefairy waves its arms and uses a move. Feather surround it and begin to glow. "Darn it, I didn't want Roost!" She whines giving Tia the perfect chance to attack.

"Ember!" She shouts while Whitney is distracted. While Clefairy did manage to heal a bit, the Ember more than undid the healing.

"_I need to focus,_" Whitney says to herself not wanting to give up without a fight. "Carefully use Metronome one more time." Clefairy attack once more and this time to much more success. Powerful streams of water crash down on Quilava. "Brine, perfect!" She cheers.

Tia was surprised, but she held out hope and boldly shouted. "Quilava use Ember!" Quilava emerges from the attack pretty banged up, but still standing. He fires off one last Ember to finish off Clefairy.

Clefairy faints to everyone's surprise. "_That Quilava is pretty impressive._" Silver says to himself. While he'd never admit it he is quite impressed by her abilities as a trainer.

"Clefairy return," Whitney says dejected. "Okay now I'm done playing. Go Miltank!" She calls her cow Pokémon and the star of her team.

"I'm not worried," she smirks. "Okay Quilava that should be enough experience. Use Flame Wheel!" Quilava bolsters his new move by curling up in a ball of flames and charging towards Miltank. To Tia's amazement Miltank takes the hit with little difficulty. "No way," she says in awe.

Whitney smirks, "Show them a real attack: Rollout!" Miltank rolls up into a ball and charges at Quilava for a direct hit. Quilava goes down in no time flat.

Tia calls back her Pokémon and immediately switches into Flaaffy, "Okay I'm counting on you Flaaffy. Use Thunder Shock!" Flaaffy sends a wave of electricity towards Miltank who continued to roll forward. "Can nothing stop that cow?" Tia is surprised when Miltank took the hit without stopping.

"My Miltank is a bit of a tank." She giggles and orders it to continue. Miltank rolls forward plowing into Flaaffy. "The attacks only get stronger too." She brags.

"Flaaffy keep it up, Miltank can't take those hits forever." She says worried about the powerful blow to come. Flaaffy does connect but too little avail. "Crap," she says as Miltank continued to roll and plow into Flaaffy again. Unfortunately, the second hit was enough to take out her Pokémon. Tia is starting to sweat now. Everyone watched her next move wondering how she'll stop Miltank. "Okay, looks like I'll need you, Heracross!" She calls out her last resort.

"You might as well give up, the next Rollout while be a one hitter." Whitney points boldly at Heracross. "Finish it Miltank!"

Miltank rolls towards Heracross rapidly. "Quickly Heracross lower your head." She says finally utilizing her strategy. Miltank runs right into Heracross's horn and ramps off into the air. "Impressed, I just thought of that." She chirps. "Now the real strategy: Swords Dance!" She orders. Glowing swords spiral around Heracross and fade away as he is surrounded by light. Heracross pumps his arms eagerly.

"Where did Heracross learn Swords Dance?" Silver asks in amazement.

Tom laughs to himself, "So going to the Game Corner wasn't a waste of time." He recalls her picking it up after cashing in her tokens from the slots.

"So you blocked one of my attacks, this one won't miss." Whitney says confidently. "Finish off that Heracross with a Rollout." Whitney says with powerful determination.

Tia smiles, "Grab it Heracross." Heracross stands his ground and firmly plants his feet. Miltank stampedes right into Heracross and does serious damage. Heracross barely had any health left and was losing more by the second. "Okay Heracross give that freaking cow a Counter to remember!" She declares. The damage is starting to really pile on and Heracross can barely muster the energy to strike back. "Heracross, don't give up!" Suddenly, Heracross feels an over surge of energy and raises one hand and punches Miltank redirected all that damage and then some back at it. The powerful blow stops Miltank dead in its tracks right. The dust clears and Heracross on one knee and panting. Tia herself is looking just as fatigued like she was the one battling.

Tom smiles excitedly and calls the match, "Whitney is unable to battle. Tia is the winner!" Tom gives the official ruling.

Tia sighs and calls back her Heracross. She wipes a few beads off sweat from her forehead and shouts, "We did it!"

Silver watched the whole battle intensely. She took on Whitney head on and won. That Miltank was no joke. It even gave him a lot of struggles and barely beat it. Still to attack head on and beat it was nothing short of a miracle. As well as that attack at the end. It wasn't like anything he's seen before. He gets up and walks out.

Anna notices him walking away, "Hey Silver, where are you going?"

"I saw all I needed to see." He says plainly and walks off. Anna smiles and joins the others.

"As the Goldenrod City gym leader I award the Plain Badge as a sign of your victory." She says bitterly.

Tia grabs it and proudly holds it up, "We did it!" She shouts victoriously.

"That was a great match you two," Anna congratulates them both. "Who cares if you lost? You still did great Whitney. Tia, your Heracross's Counter was amazing!"

"Well it wasn't _that _special." Tia modestly admits.

"Yeah, you still two did great. This will look good on your annual evaluation Whit." Tom says writing down a couple notes.

"Thanks Anna," Whitney's true color were showing. Sure she was a little irritating to deal with at time, but deep down she cared what others thought about her. "Well, I lost fair and square. I look forward to hearing how you do from here on out." Whitney says expecting great things out of Tia.

"Thanks Whitney, I guess we'll leave you two to your plans." Tia smiles and looks to Anna. "It was great traveling with you, Anna." She gives her friend a warm hug.

"You too Tia," she says happily and gives Tom a hug too. "I'll miss you both." She says excited to start her new life in Goldenrod, but still hopes to one day see more of the world.

The two exit the gym and leave Whitney and Anna to their privacy. "Looks like it's just you and me again." Tom comments.

Tia smiles, "Just like old times. I need to stop at the center to heal and they we can continue." She calmly heads to the center. "You know, I kind of like it when it's just you and me." She says with a soft smile.

Tom smiles too, "Aw, don't be shy now. You can say it." He teases her.

She blushes, "What I mean is you're like my best friend." She confesses. "I've learned a lot from you." She averts her gaze.

"I love you too Tia." He says bursting into laugher when she turns bright red. "You're like a sister and a best friend." He explains.

"I definitely _don't_ love you!" She sticks her tongue out. She couldn't lie though, even she knew that he is like a brother she never had.

"Hiding your feelings from an Empath; how's that working out for you?" He jokes knowing exactly how she felt. Not entirely because of his powers, but because he felt the same way. "Let's head out, this was nice seeing my old home again, but I'm sure you're ready to get to the next town."

Tia nods, "You bet, what is the next town and is there a gym in it?" She asks caring very little for much else.

"That would be Ecruteak City and yes, there is a gym there." He states knowing the region like the back of his hand.

"Perfect, gym badge number four here we come!" She boldly declares and runs off.

Tom just rolls his eyes, "Some things never change," he runs after her.

Meanwhile back at the gym, something comes to Whitney's mind. "Hey Anna, I need to make a call and I'll be right with you." She chirps. She heads to her little gym leader's office. A small room with a desk and tons of plush toys. She hops on the phone and turns on the screen.

"Hey Whitney," a young man with messy blonde hair wearing a purple scarf comes on.

"Hey Morty, I just finished up my battle with that girl Tom is travelling with." She says as per his request.

Morty had shown great interest in Tia and wanting to know how she was fairing. "Good to know, how did the match go?" He asks intrigued.

"She did well, her team was very powerful. Her Heracross was able to go toe-to-toe with Miltank." Whitney explains. She will admit that Tia is good, not perfect. There was still a lot of room for her abilities to grow. "She'll give you a run for your money." She says confidently.

Morty smirks, "Perfect, I look forward to it. Now I just need to finish up a few things here and I'll be heading back to Ecruteak." Whitney noticed that he looked to be outside some sort of cave.

"Where are you?" She inquires.

"At the Ruins of Alph. I've been doing some digging and discovered something very interesting." Morty's love of ruins and ancient history had led him to spend years digging through the ruins of Alph. "I may have found what we've been looking for." He says with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"How exciting, I should get going." Whitney tries to hang up before Morty rambles on about his findings.

"Before you go on a scale of one to ten how good looking is this girl?" He asks with a mischievous smile. "Come on, I know you have to tell me." He ties to goad her.

Whitney hangs up without as much as a goodbye. What he said did concern her though. Morty's ambitious enough to give Tom a run for his money.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the story as a whole. First off, I think this whole little Goldenrod City Arc should just be titled "Tom and Tia Can't Even Right Now." Also, for anyone who didn't read the Christmas Special there's a brief hook to incentive you all to read it. Well, this is the final chapter for the year, it's brought me a staggering amount of success, over 4,000 views may not seem like a lot to some, but that's huge to me. Thank you all for reading and I hope you all look forward to the thrilling and action packed 2015 with more of Tia's Tale's as well as other stories in the Pokemon Sagas Universe!<p> 


	47. Chapter 45: Bug Off!

Chapter 45: Bug Off!

The two travelling companions aren't on Route 35 long before a large building comes into view. "Hey Tom, what's that?" Tia asks curiously and quickens her pace.

"That's the entrance to the National Park. It's another huge attraction of Goldenrod City. It's a very tranquil and serene place." He says thinking back to how he always use to visit it growing up.

As they get closer they notice a familiar face. "Is that Silver?" Tia squints and notices him reading a poster with a bunch of Pokémon on it. She walks up behind him and speaks up. "Hey Silver, what are you looking at?" She says not knowing he hadn't seen her coming.

Silver practically jumps out of his skin. "Geez, do you always run up to people with the grace of a Tauros?" He complains and looks back at her. "And look for yourself." He starts to walk off towards the entrance.

Tia examines the poster. It was decorated with all kinds of Bug type Pokémon and big, bold print. "A bug catching contest, that's cool!" She says excited and follows Silver. "So are you entering this contest?" Tia asks with a cheery smile.

"Depends," he says with a sour expression.

"On what?" Tia on the other hand is practically brimming with excitement.

"If you're going to be entering." He says coldly.

"Sure, I'll enter." She smiles and pats him on the shoulder.

"Then I'll pass," he shrugs her off and walks away.

"Come on don't be like that." She says not taking the hint he doesn't want to spend any more time with her than he has to. She grabs him by the arm and drags him inside.

"I said no," he growls trying to get her to let him go.

Tia ignores his complaining and walks up to a receptionist. "Hello, the two of us would like to enter the bug catching contest."

"Make that three," Tom speaks up and walks up to the counter.

"Okay, so that's three more for the bug contest." The receptionist says with a cheerful smile and she registers them in the computer.

"Tom, you're entering?" Tia asks surprised.

"Yeah why not? I did these all the time when I was a little kid." He smiles and steps through the gate into the park.

"Okay, let's go Silver." Tia drags him along while he struggles to break free.

"Let me go you psycho!" Silver says very irritated by Tia's forceful approach to getting him to enter.

"What a cute couple," the receptionist says blissfully unaware.

The three continue outside, Tia dragging Silver the entire way. They gather up with a few other participants and an announcer standing in front.

"Okay we have all the participants so let this Bug contest begin!" He says exuberantly. "The rules are simple. You are given twenty Parkballs along with one of your Pokémon. Your goal is to catch the best and rarest Pokémon you can." He explains. "Okay everyone, go out and do your best. And of course, remember to have fun!" He cheers with the rest of crowd.

Tom decides to take his Elekid and walks up to Tia and Silver. "Well I've made my choice. Who you two going with?" He says as he scouts the surroundings.

Tia thinks for a moment. "Well, I guess the best choice would be Quilava." She calls out her Fire type who runs around eagerly. "What about you, Silver?" She asks as she tugs on his arm.

He groans, "I guess my Sneasel," he says finally deciding to stop resisting. "You happy? Now let me go!" he finally breaks free of her grasp. He walks off with his Sneasel. It's not that he didn't want to enter; he just wanted to keep his distance from her. Tia was his rival, there was nothing to gain from being her friend in his mind. He hears rustling from behind him. He whirls around and spots Tia once again. "God, why are you following me now?" He turns away and stomps his feet as he walks away.

"Come on Silver we're supposed to be having fun." She says cheerfully.

"What's with you? Why are you all of a sudden acting like this? We're not friends!" He says wishing she'd just leave him alone.

She sighs, "Because I'm worried." She walks up to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Chasing Team Rocket seems like your only real goal." She says honestly.

"It is," he shrugs her off.

"Team Rocket's done terrible things and made good people do terrible things." She says more gently. "I don't want to see anyone else turn out like that."

"Don't tell me what to do, Team Rocket is nothing but a bunch of criminals and I'll take them down." He scowls.

Tia looks deep into his eyes, "You're not a bad person Silver. Don't try to act like one. Let people in." She says quietly.

"Where the hell are you getting all this from anyway?" He says wondering why she's suddenly an expert on people.

"I did a lot of things I regret when I fought Team Rocket back in Kanto. Risked my life many times. I've seen friends driven to do terrible things, Pokémon tortured, and even Tom was so hate filled battling them." She explains recalling all the Mysterious Trainer X run-ins.

"Look, I know what I'm doing so leave me alone. I don't want to be your friend." He walks off. "For the record. Team Rocket took my family from me. You have no idea how I really feel." He says harshly.

Tia slumps her head in disappointment. "Well I tried," she says feeling like she failed. "Come on Quilava let's get ourselves a rare Pokémon so we can win this contest!" She tone quickly becomes more optimistic. She looks around and spots few Caterpie and Kakuna here and there. None of which are very rare she knew. She continues to watch Silver how was prowling around closer to a Beedrill. "Well either way, I'm still going to beat him." She determined. She goes deeper into the park and notices some rustling from the brush. "There we go. Quilava draw it out with a SmokeScreen." She says in an attempt to smoke out the Pokémon.

Quilava does just that and draws out a very irritated Scyther. The Scyther coughs and hones its sights on Quilava. In a blur Scyther charges Tia's Pokémon and hits it with one of its mighty blades. Quilava is knocked back and wince from the attack.

"Quilava are you okay?" She panics and notices a scratch along his side. Quilava powers through. "Okay good, it with an Ember!" She says with her usual fighting spirit. Quilava pulled no punches and shot a burst of flames at Scyther who continued its rampant pace and avoided the attack entirely. "Quick Attack!" Tia said in a split second decision. Quilava runs forward and speeds under Scyther. "Now Ember!" She orders. Quilava whirls around and shoots a powerful burst at Scyther's back. Taken by surprise Scyther was unable to avoid Quilava's second wave of fire. Scyther was not about to quit though. The Pokémon turns back towards Quilava with a furious look on its face. Scyther sharpened its blades eagerly and charges after Quilava. "Jump Quilava!" Scyther is getting irritated and telegraphing its moves so Tia is able to better counter and predict what Scyther is going to do.. Scyther's arms sweep Quilava who was quick enough to jump over them. Once Quilava hits the ground he quickly runs between Scyther's legs again. "Good keep it up!" Tia instructs for another Ember. Another direct hit on Scyther. While Tia naturally had the type advantage she's really come to learn how to strategize. Wild Pokémon had a very predictable tendency, especially when provoked. Clearly, Scyther was the kind of Pokémon to slash away wildly leaving itself open to attacks.

Once it was weak enough Tia used the opportunity to catch the Scyther. She throws her Pokeball and connects with Scyther. The ball shakes once, twice, three times, and locks with a ping sound. She runs up and picks up the ball, "Alright!" She cheers and pets Quilava who is equally excited. "This will win us the contest for sure." She says happily.

Now that Tia is free to wait she decides to look for Silver again. Her resolve was a little over zealous, but she wants to help him. Team Rocket was not just a bunch of pushovers who could be taken down so easily and Silver seems like he's ready to do anything to stop then. That is what scares her most of all.

She spots Silver locked in battle with a Pinsir using his Sneasel. Sneasel fires off an Icy Wind and sends Pinsir flying. "Perfect," he says with a determined gleam in his eye. He tosses a ball and catches the felled Pinsir.

"Hey good job Silver," Tia says cheerfully as she approached.

"Oh great, my headache is back." He responds sarcastically, and less than happy to see her. "Seriously, did I offend you in a past life or something?"

Tia sinks her head, "I just want to help you."

"I don't _need _help. I don't _want_ help. Just leave me alone!" He snarls and stomps off. As he walks away the two of them hear a faint rustling from the bushes. Suddenly an entire swarm of Beedrill fly out from the area where Icy Wind hit.

"Uh-oh that's not good!" Tia panics and starts running with Silver. Silver quickly turns around to stand his ground. "What are you doing?" Tia asks in a panicked state.

"We can beat them! Go Sneasel!" he orders his Pokémon to fight back. Sneasel lands a few good blows, but is quickly overwhelmed. "Crap return." He calls back Sneasel and keeps running.

"Why would you use a Sneasel to fight Bug Types?" Tia asks like he didn't know the basics of typing.

"I did it toughen him up," Silver says thinking that overcoming Sneasel's weakness would make him that much better.

"That's stupid!" Tia shouts.

"You're stupid!" He rebukes.

Tia quickly looks back and notices them gaining fast. "Quilava I need you to set up a distraction. Ember!" She commands while her starter swiftly complies. Quilava manages to repel a good number of them. Thinking fast Tia takes Silver's arm and runs into the brush. The run through the thicket and attempt to hide from the Beedrill. In their mad dash Tia and Silver both trip over a couple roots and crash to the ground. The two stumble and fall to the ground.

Silver groans as lands on his back. He rubs the back of his head and tries to get up. He then notices Tia had landed on top of him. "Get off of me." He barks.

Tia looks down at him, "What did I do? Why do you hate me so much?" She asks feeling that no matter how hard she tries he just keeps distancing himself.

He looks up at her angrily. "You're annoying!" He tries to push her off of him. Then he stops to look into her eyes. She was hurt; he'd seen the same pain in his eyes many times. He averts his gaze. "I never said I hated you. I just don't want help. I don't _need _anyone." He says stubbornly.

"Silver I know how you feel about Team Rocket-" She begins to say.

"You don't know anything about how I feel!" He shouts. "Team Rocket took my father from me and left me alone with my dying mother!" He says furiously.

Tia looks down him in shock. "You're right, I'll never know how that feels. That doesn't change the fact that I don't want you to fight them alone." She says more tenderly.

"Why? Why are you so persistent?" He's tone begins to lighten slightly.

"I just feel like we could at least be friends. You're not a bad guy Silver. You just seem hurt to me. Can't you at least trust me?" Tia asks quietly gazing into his eyes.

"Please," he pauses, "could you please get off me?" He says trying to sound more polite.

Tia nods and climbs off of him. "Will you at least think about it Silver?" She asks clinging onto some ray of hope.

He nods silently, "I think the Beedrill are gone now." He stands up and holds out a hand. He pulls Tia up and draws her in close. In a fleeting second they stood face to face. Silver's harden expression had changed to a more vulnerable state. Without a word their lips meet and just as quickly separate. Tia almost couldn't believe it. She and Silver kissed.

Tia is taken by complete surprise, but she was happy that he did trust her, despite not saying it. "We should get out of here." She says feeling her heart flutter.

The two suddenly jump at the sound of a loud clap of thunder. The two run out and spot Tom with his Elekid. "So many Beedrill so little time." He laughs before a large pile of fainted Beedrill. He spots Tia and Silver. "Oh sorry, was I interrupting?" He smirks as he clearly alludes to inappropriate things.

"Sh-shut up!" Tia blushes madly. Tom simply lets it be; her life. "Did Elekid really beat all those Beedrill with one attack?" Tia asked in awe.

Tom gives her a thumbs up, "I know what I'm doing." He says with his usual toothy grin. "Come on, the contests is about to end." He leads on with Tia and Silver close behind.

The two felt like they were stepping on egg shells practically. Neither wanting to address what happened in the bushes. Both seem to be a mixture of happy, nervous, and embarrassed. Silver is worried he took it step to far; while Tia questioned her own feelings towards him.

The announcer steps forward, "Okay contestants, time for the judging. Please show us your Pokémon!" He cheers. As he says so all the trainers reveal their Pokémon. Both Tia and Silver show off their Pokémon getting most everyone's attention. "My, my, we have some impressive Pokémon over there." The announcer points out.

"Nice catch you two," Tom says pleasantly. "Now time for the winner to step forward." He says with a cocky smile. He tosses the ball in the air and reveals his catch. From the Pokémon comes a Beautifly with a pink hue to it that shimmered in the light.

"Amazing, we have ourselves a shiny Beautifly from contestant Tom!" He looks at it more closely. "Sadly, Pokémon are not ranked by their shininess so third place is yours!" He says abruptly.

"Oh come on!" He complains. His Beautifly lands perched on top of his head affectionately. "Well you're still a winner in my books." He smiles and pats her on the head.

"It's down to Tia's Scyther and Silver's Pinsir. Who will be the better Pokémon folks?" He examines them closely. "My, my, looks like we have a winner! This Scyther is simply magnificent! Those blades are some of the sharpest I've seen on a Scyther, plus it's a bit taller than average." He makes the final call and holds up Tia's arm. "Congratulations, Tia is our winner!" He boldly declares. Everyone begins to cheer and clap. She even notices a faint smile from Silver as he clapped.

The contest finally dies down and Tia given her prize: a Metal Coat. "Well, that was a lot of fun." She says to Tom and Silver who she was glad didn't just leave on her.

"You earned that win Tia." Tom says happily with his new Beautifly. "You did well too Silver." Tom points out admiring the strength of that Pinsir.

He nods, "This is goodbye for now," he says stoically.

"Why not travel with us Silver?" Tia offers.

He shakes his head, "No, I want to be able to beat you one of these days and I want to do it without knowing how you battle. If I stuck around then there wouldn't be any surprises" He gives her a smug grin and looks determined as ever to continue on.

Tia nods, she was happy with his answer. "Good luck then," She holds out a hand. The two shake hands and grin. "Too bad you're never going to beat me." She says with a cocky look on her face.

Silver matches her expression, "You say that now." They let each other's hand go and part ways.

Tom watches the two rivaling trainers, "_This I do not want to miss for the world._" Tom was excited to see the blossoming trainers reaching their fullest potential. The two say goodbye and Tia walks over to Tom. He smiles cheerfully. "Aw, he likes you." He jokes.

Tia blushes, "Shut up," she hopes he isn't reading her emotions.

"Oh so something did happen in those bushes. Tia, you naughty girl, you." He teases.

"I will kill you!" She chases after him as her runs forward.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. So this was a pretty eventful chapter, and I'm sure people will be shipping away. I really feel like from this point on the quality of the series really improves. I was considering doing a series for Anna after her leaving the group, but really I'm not sure if I could make it interesting enough to justify it. How about this. If people really want to see more of Anna I will write up a series about what happens with Anna while Tia's Tales are going on. So if you want to see the stories of Anna please send me a private message telling how much you all want it.<p> 


	48. Chapter 46: Legend Awakens

Chapter 46: Legend Awakens

The sun was bright and at its highest as the two trainers continued down the road in lieu of the bug catching contest. "I still can't believe I lost." Tom pouts with Cleffa in arms and Beautifly upon his head.

"Quit whining, and are you really going to keep that Beautifly?" Tia asks feeling that it only really emasculates him.

"Of course I'm keeping her. She's very special," he says affectionately. He'd never had a shiny Pokémon before and I was not afraid to express his love for cute Pokémon. Sure it didn't make him look too tough, but Tom was never one to show off how strong he was. "I bet Cleffa and Beautifly could be best friends." He coos while holding Cleffa close.

"A mother knows I guess," Tia teases him.

"How is this any different from the way you coddle Togepi?" He points out as she held her own baby Pokémon.

Tia could think of a retort so the conversation ends there. They continue along the calm forest's trail when they approach a sign. Tia reads it aloud. "Ecruteak City, Ruins of Alph?" Each name has a corresponding arrow pointing to a certain location. "Hey Tom, what are the Ruins of Alph?" She asks curiously as she looked down the road.

This piques Tom's curiosity as well. "As far as I know it's a bunch of ruins filled with fossils and ancient glyphs. Wanna check it out?" He asks anxiously.

She shrugs, "Normally I'd just want to get to Ecruteak for my gym battle, but this looks pretty cool too. Besides, a _researcher _like yourself would definitely be interested in this." She loots back to his old cover back in Kanto.

They walk down the path to a large building that served as a gate to the ruins. Inside was a large gathering of archeologists discussing fossils and other findings. A few take note of Tia and Tom as they walk in.

One of them speaks up as they walk by, "Hey, you with the Beautifly on your head." He calls Tom out.

"Me?" He asks as if he wasn't the only one with a Beautifly on his head. "Can I help you?" He was a little surprised to be called out.

"Yeah, you look like the kind of guy who likes researching Pokémon. Check this out," he produces a small tablet with strange glyphs on it. "What do you make of this?"

Tom takes one look and is immediately amazed. "The Unown!" Tom was all too familiar with these ancient Pokémon and their cryptic communication.

"What's are the Unown?" Tia speaks up.

"Ancient Pokémon," the archeologist points out. "They say Unown originated here in the Ruins of Alph. We've been digging for months and still haven't found a trace of them. These glyphs are the only real clue we have to their whereabouts." He shows Tia more closely.

She didn't have the foggiest clue what the glyphs said though. Tom stoically interprets them. "The mighty beast imbued by flame resides within. Only the Unown can see. Only the Unown can know." He reads the glyphs a loud.

"Very good, any idea what it means?" The archeologist asks.

"I'm going to find out." Tom furrows his brow and walks out into the grounds of the ruins. He looks around the ruins and notices several cave openings. "_This'll take forever._" He says to himself.

Tia runs out behind him. "Tom what was that about?" Tia asks a little concerned now.

"The mighty beast imbued by flame." He recites the glyph. "There's something hidden in these ruins. I want to find it. I have a feeling I know who else is looking for it too." He walks off leaving Tia shocked and confused.

She decides to give Tom some space so she freely wanders the grounds herself. Tia spots one cave that hand a sign that reads, _recently discovered_. She decides to check it out beginning to think maybe coming to the ruins isn't as exciting as she originally expected. Inside was pitch black with a small din of light from a couple torches on the way.

The interior was actually very fascinating. The walls were all adorned with images depicting Pokémon locked in battle with more Unown looming over them. She notices one carving depicting three four legged Pokémon. One had a fiery mane, another with sharp fangs surrounded by lightning, and lastly one with a flowing mane and winds behind it that frozen everything around it.

"Wait," she notices the last Pokémon and vaguely reminds her of something. "That looks like Suicune." She says in awe.

"Well someone is well read," A faint voice comes from down the tunnel. She hears the faint footsteps as a young man dressed in black with a purple scarf walks up. "What brings a girl like you to a dank, old place like this?" He says with a flirty smile.

"Well, I was on my way to Ecruteak when I saw the sign and I thought I'd check it out." She says still fixated on the carvings on the wall. "I don't really know anything about Pokémon legends; I just ran into Suicune once. That's why I know what he looks like." She confesses.

The guy's eyes widen, "You say that so casually. Most people go their entire lives without seeing a legendary Pokémon." He points out given that they are one of a kind. "So what's your name?" He asks trying to get back on track.

"Tia," she says politely. "What's yours?"

"Morty. Pretty name for a pretty girl." He recites the old cheesy line with a winning smile.

Tia just ignores his comment, "So you studying these ruins?" She asks quickly changing the subject.

He sighs in defeat, "I sure do; living the last few years in Ecruteak City I've had a lot of chances to study these ruins." He points at the picture of the trio. "You know what that says there?" He says with a grin on his face.

Tia examines it and notices one of the glyphs, "The mighty beast imbued by flame." She recalls what Tom had told her. All three shared the same description except for the last word.

"Very good, where'd you learn to read the Unown?" Morty is more and more impressed by Tia.

She giggles nervously, "Actually my friend Tom read a tablet some guy showed us. I just took a shot in the dark that it was the same."

Morty whips his head towards her, "Wait, Tom? As in the league champion?" Morty panics.

"Yeah, you know him?" Tia says nonchalantly.

"Know him? He's my boss practically. More importantly, you're Tia!" Morty now realizes this is the girl he was waiting to meet. And she's hot!

"I am…" She says more than a little confused by his reaction.

"I've been waiting to meet you. I like what I see too." He winks.

"Oh boy," she says sarcastically. "So wait if Tom's your boss then that means you're Ecruteak's gym leader?"

"The one and only." He says with his same suave smile. "Enough about me, tell me about you." He says putting an arm around her shoulder.

She groans and shrugs him off. "Not interested," she shoots him down almost immediately. "I'm more interested in these ruins now." She says snidely.

He sighs, "Fine, fine. This might help though." He hands her a sheet with a complete translation of the Unown alphabet.

Tia studies it for a few moments. "Wow, so the Unown communicated using their own bodies?" Tia begins to read off the glyphs. "The beasts imbued by flame, ice, and thunder." She continues reading. "There, that says Suicune!" She points at the wall.

Morty laughs, "You remind me of myself when I first learned to read the Unown." Morty stands back and looks at a few of the other carvings.

Tia notices the other names. "Raikou and Entei?" These were two names she'd never heard before.

Morty speaks up, "They are known as the legendary beast trio of Johto. Some believe Entei lies dormant in these ruins himself." Morty says with a determined expression.

Tia walks up behind him, "And you want to catch him don't you?" She had him pegged. His ego definitely seemed like the type to want to catch a legendary Pokémon.

He laughs, "You got me," he raises his hands. "Come on, I'll show you our latest discovery." He gestures her to follow as they head deeper down the halls. The tunnel stops at a dead end with writing on the wall. "This has us all completely baffled."

Tia examines it, "I'll say," she steps closer. "It just says, _potion_." She reaches into her bag and produces a potion. "Like this?" She holds it up.

No real surprise; nothing happens. "Well you tried." Morty scratches his head. "I've been spending the last couple days trying to figure this one out." He admits and sits down. "Maybe the rest of the glyph broke off? Even then what would a potion do?" He asks himself.

"Wait, potions existed back in ancient times?" Tia points out.

Morty jumps up, "No, no they didn't? Then this is even weirder." He walks up to the glyphs and examines them closely.

"He's an idea," she sprays the potion on the wall. Suddenly the wall begins to shake and glyphs move around before phasing out. "No way, the Unown?" Both Tia and Morty are amazed. The Unown circle them and glow. Suddenly, the wall sinks into the ground and opens a new passageway. The Unown fly deeper into the ruins.

"No way, Tia you did!" He attempts to embrace her, but she quickly side steps out of the way causing him to lose his footing and fall to the ground.

"Quit screw around, let's go!" Tia runs forward excitedly. She notices a bunch of other runs with more Pokémon from ancient times. At the end of this hallway was a large statue of Entei standing proudly. "No way," she says in awe.

Morty runs up, "This is it!" He cheers. "We found Entei! Now how do we wake him up?" He examines the glyphs. "Born from Ho-oh's flames. Entei shall be awaken from flame again." He says aloud.

"Ho-oh?" Tia asks having not heard the name before.

"Ho-oh is another legendary Pokémon: the Rainbow Pokémon. He and Lugia are said to be the creators of the three beasts. The problem is that we will never be able to awaken him if we don't have Sacred Fire." He groans.

"Wait Morty. Stop thinking about it like a prophecy. These are just the Unown giving us a message I think. Their testing us; who else would have a potion than a Pokémon trainer?" She points out.

"So you think we need a Fire Type?" Morty questions.

"Worth a shot. Quilava go, use Ember!" Tia calls out her Pokémon and has him unleash flames on the statue.

The statue ignites in flames and begins to glow. Suddenly the Unown surface from the walls and circle the statue. They begin to glow as does Entei's statue. The ground shakes and a mighty roar echoes through the halls. In a blinding flash of light the statue crumbles and reveals a tall and proud Pokémon. Entei stands before them and looks into Tia's eyes.

The Unown circle Entei and spell out his thoughts. "Thank you for awakening me?" Tia reads in surprise. "So you're Entei?" She asks in pure amazement.

Entei nods, the Unown continue speaking for him. "I may once again walk this world. Farewell," he leaps over them and charges out of the ruins.

"Entei wait!" Morty chases after the legendary beast. "Misdreavus, follow him with Shadow Sneak!" As Morty runs a Pokémon emerges from a Pokeball in his hand and just as quickly sinks into the shadows. Morty's Pokémon latches onto Entei's shadow and follows him out.

Once outside Tia and Morty spot Entei standing in the middle of the ruins. "I knew this had your name written all over it Morty." Tom walks up and ever closer to Entei. "You don't honestly think you can catch Entei do you?" Tom asks with an irritated expression on his face.

Morty smirks, "I do; Misdreavus use Mean Look!" Misdreavus appears from Entei's shadow and glares at it with its bright glowing eyes. Entei was now at a standstill unable to flee.

Entei turns to Morty with a group of Unown, "If it is a battle you seek then I shall give up one." Entei submits and quickly blasts fire at Misdreavus. Misdreavus goes down in a single hit forcing Morty's hand.

"Just give it up Morty." Tom says angrily.

"No, I will beat you!" He says to both Entei and Tom. "Looks like I'll have to bring out the big guns." He says with a vicious smile.

Tom stands frozen, "You wouldn't!" Tom's heart began to race just looking at the ball in Morty's hand.

"It'll shut you up." He tosses the ball. "Go Darkrai!" A dark aura passes over everyone as a single, shadowy Pokémon emerges. Darkrai floated before Entei with its single menacing eye as if it were starting into Entei's very soul.

Tia felt shaken just looking at Darkrai, but she noticed Tom was faring much worse. He lets out a blood curling scream and collapses to his knees. He clutches his head as he breaks out into a profuse sweat. "So much darkness… So much hatred…" He is genuinely terrfied of Darkrai.

Tia runs over to him, "Tom are you alright? Tom!" She gets on her knees and shakes him. "Morty, you did that on purpose!" She yells back at him.

"Hey, sometimes you gotta do whatever you can to be the best." He turns his attention back to Entei. "Now Darkrai, Ominous Wind!" He calls out. Darkrai raises his arm and clouds the area in a dark mist that flies towards Entei. As if expecting this Entei jumps out of the way and fires of a powerful attack of his own. Darkrai slips into the shadows and charges forward. "Dark void!" Morty shouts. Darkrai unleashes a powerful haze on darkness and clings to Entei's Shadow. Instantly, Entei begins to appear more fatigued until he falls asleep. "Perfect, give him a Nightmare!" Morty says triumphantly. Entei begins to look uneasy in his sleep and lets out a painful roar. "Good, now just stay asleep for me." He says throwing an Ultraball at him.

Entei is called into the ball. The ball shakes once, twice, but bursts open before the third shake. Entei emerges with a fiery look in his eyes. "I'm insulted you think I'd submit so easily." The Unown spell out. Entei unleashes a powerful eruption of fire towards a stunned Darkrai.

"Dammit, Darkrai, Dark Pulse!" Morty shouts. Darkrai continues its assault by extending its arm once more. A large blast of darkness pulsates towards Entei. Entei face it head on and sends Fire Blast right through it. Entei is severely weakened, but the Fire Blast was enough to knock out Darkrai. "No!" Morty shouts angrily.

Entei walks up, "You fought well trainer." He turns towards Tia and Tom. "You are not quite ready yet." The Unown convey. Entei takes a running leap onto the caves and runs off.

"Entei is so powerful," Tia says in awe. She looks back down at Tom who was still a complete mess. "We need to get you to a Pokémon Center." She helps get him back on his feet and holds him up.

She looks at Morty with disgust. He just simply calls back his Darkrai and gets on his X-transceiver. "Lance, it's me." He says stoically.

"What's the latest Morty?" Lance asks matching his more intense demeanor.

"Entei is awake, but I wasn't able to catch him." He reports.

"I see, well that's one more legendary Pokémon to worry about. Anything else?" He asks curious if any other developments happened.

"Yeah, you'd be wise to keep an eye on that Tia girl. Something tells me she's no ordinary trainer." He says with a mischievous grin. "That and she's a total babe."

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you all enjoyed. Please, feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. So things got real this chapter. For anyone that may have not caught on yet, legendary Pokemon play a very large role in the Pokemon Sagas universe. Also, I love Morty; he's kind of like a more pervy Tom. Which Tom himself showed that he's not bullet proof himself. This chapter is also going up really early due to work and school scheduling so I may switch Tia's Tales releases to 12:00 P.M. (EST) on Tuesdays from now on.<p> 


	49. Chapter 47: For Whom the Bell Tower Toll

Chapter 47: For Whom the Bell Tower Tolls

Tom lies in bed shouting in terror. Tia was in the other room listening to her friend in agony. "What do we do Togepi?" She asks afraid that nothing's going to come him down. Darkrai was scary for sure so she could only imagine what that would do to an Empath like Tom. She steps out the room and makes a quick call on her X-transceiver. On screen is a familiar face she didn't think she'd have to call.

"Tia? This is a surprise." Sabrina says happily.

"Hey Sabrina, are you busy?" She asks with a troubled look on her face.

"What's wrong; where's Tom?" Sabrina says feeling her heart sink like a rock.

"How fast could you get to Ecruteak City?" Tia asks. Sabrina hangs up. "Sabrina? Sabrina?" Tia urgently tries to call her back.

"Where is he?" Sabrina walks up from down stairs with an Alakazam behind her. She hears her boyfriend's shouts. "Never mind," she starts to walk off with Tia close in tow. She walks in on Tom who is flailing in his bed and clutching at his head. "What happened?" Sabrina asks never knowing Tom to act this way. She gets on her knees and looks over her boyfriend.

"I don't know? He just had a total break down when Morty called out his Darkrai." Tia explains.

Sabrina's eyes shoot up at Tia, "Why the hell did Morty have to call out _that_?" Even thinking about that nightmare of a Pokémon disgusted her.

"He was trying to catch Entei." Tia says stoically. "It seemed like he knew this was going to happen too." Tia points out.

"Get Morty. I have to talk to him, but I can't leave Tom." She says affectionately. It hurt her to see him like this.

Tia nods, "I was hoping you'd be able to calm him down." Tia says softly.

"I will certainly try." She tries to touch him, but he flails his arms in protest.

"I'll be back," Tia says quickly run out of the room.

"Tom…" Sabrina says gently. "I know you can hear me. It's me dear; please calm down." She attempts to calm him down with her voice. In a desperate act she throws her arms around him and pins him down. He's stronger than her, but she still tries nonetheless.

Tom finally speaks, "So much hatred. Nightmares… Death!" He shouts and panics. He begins to breathe heavily. "Fear, so much fear." He was practically blinded by terror.

Sabrina was growing more and more scared, but then she realized what it took. He was sensing fear: her fear. She embraces him, "Tom please; everything will be alright. I'm right here. I love you." She says calmly trying to not worry. He's currently responding to emotions on a heightened level so her love should ring through stronger than ever.

He eventually begins to calm down and breathe more regularly. He was exhausted, but still he managed to focus. "Sabrina?" He asks so surreally with a raspy voice.

"Yes, it's me dear. I came as soon as I heard." She rubs his cheek and gives him a soft kiss. "How do you feel now?" She asks softly.

He rubs his head, "Better, bit of a head ache though." He sits up and rubs his temples and throat.

"I guess Empathic headaches are just as bad as psychic headaches?" She jokes trying to lighten the mood.

Tom grabs a glass of water off the night stand, "Yeah I guess so." He says trying to relax his throat too. "God, now I'm hoarse too." He downs the water in a single gulp. "Where's Tia?"

"Getting the ass in the scarf." She rolls her eyes.

"I can't believe Morty. I never thought he'd pull a stunt like that." Tom slams his fist against the bed.

"I know, Tia told me all about it. Let's just calm down for now." She picks up his belt. "Here want me to get Cleffa for you?" She says affectionately.

He gives a weak laugh, "Sure, the more friendly faces the better." He smiles and calls her out. Cleffa's smiling face immediately brightens his mood.

Sabrina notices the Pokeballs on his belt. "A Parkball?" She asks.

"Oh right, my newest catch. You'll like this." He calls out his Beautifly. Who perches herself atop his head.

"A shiny Beautifly!" Sabrina eyes light up; she had a bit of a soft spot for this particular Pokémon. She never really harped on a Pokémon's looks like Tom does, but she couldn't deny how cute Beautifly were. She even secretly had one of her own, but she never flaunted it, because she was afraid people would accuse her of being girly.

"She was supposed to be a surprise." Tom says a little downcast that the surprise was ruined.

Sabrina laughs and sits beside him. "Well, this was a surprise." She says affectionately and kisses him again.

They stop when they hear a series of annoyed growls. "Ow, ow, stop it. Let go of my ear." Morty's voice draws closer to the door.

"I got him," Tia says dragging him in by the ear.

She lets him go and steps back. He nurses his sore ear and notices Tom's company. "Really, you had to involve her?" He glares at Tom.

"Tia's the one who called me." Sabrina glares at him. "So what's this I heard about you trying to catch Entei?" Sabrina says with a threatening glare.

"He was ripe for the picking. What was supposed to do, let him go?" He submits.

"You broke the code Morty." Tom says not thinking and quickly covers his mouth.

"What code?" Tia asks suspiciously.

"Way to go loud mouth!" Morty complains.

He sighs, "The code all us trainers with Legendary Pokémon made. No more than one, we established this so we could be balanced." Tom explains.

"Two or more legendary Pokémon on a single team is next to unbeatable and requires a lot of energy on the trainer's part. We established this code to prevent insurrection amongst us." Sabrina further explains.

"Which brings me to my next question. Why did you try to break the code?" Tom stares at him intensely.

Morty smirks, "Maybe I just wanted to finally put you in your place. Then I could be the best trainer." He says boldly.

"Darkrai and Entei combined couldn't beat my Rayquaza." Tom says with a cocky smirk.

"You are such an ass!" Morty gets defensive.

"Boys quit it." Tia steps up. "You're both acting like children."

"He's the one who tortured me with his Pokémon!" Tom immediately points fingers.

"I wanted Entei and I wanted to prove I'm better than you!" Morty growls while Sabrina is caught in the cross fire.

"Morty that's enough," she says tentatively.

"I can't believe you're taking his side in this!" Morty yells at her.

"Hey don't yell at her." Tom gets on his feet and stares down Morty. "I know why you have such a grudge against me. It's because I'm dating your sister!" He says triumphantly.

Tia takes a second to process what Tom just said. "What?" Tia shouts in utter amazement.

"Tom!" Sabrina was really hoping to keep their family squabbles out of this.

"That's it, get over here you bastard!" Morty cracks his knuckles and reaches for Tom. Tom side steps out of the way and takes off avoid Morty's grasp. "Get back here!" Morty shouts as he takes off after Tom with fire in his eyes.

"Tom, Morty come back!" Sabrina shouts in vain before running after them.

Tia is left inside the room with a surreal look on her face. "What the heck just happened?" She drops to her knees in all the confusion. She takes a few moments to gathers her thoughts and decides to follow after them.

Tia runs outside and sees them both standing at opposite ends of a battlefield. Sabrina is just sitting on a bench shaking her head. "Why can't those two ever get along?" She asks in anguish.

Tia walks up and sits beside her, "So Morty's…"

"My older brother, yes. Needless to say he doesn't exactly approve of our relationship. It doesn't help he's just as hell bent on being the best as Tom is." She just sighs and watches as all chaos is about to break loose.

"Should we try and stop them?" Tia suggests.

"I don't think anything can stop them at this point. You know how head strong Tom can get. Sadly, my brother's not much better." She hangs her head in defeat.

"Hope you're ready to lose." Tom declares grabbing his first Pokeball.

"Please, I already know you can't handle my Darkrai." He threatens with Darkrai's Pokeball in hand.

The two are about to engage in what will no doubt be an explosive battle. That is until they hear the bell toll from the Tin Tower. They both stop and look up. "No way," Tom says in awe.

"The Bell has rung in years. That means Ho-oh's watching." Morty says in wonder and amazement.

The large, wooden structure stood as a pinnacle of Ecruteak City. For centuries the tower has stood as a symbol for the mighty, legendary Pokemon Ho-oh. Legends tell that the bell atop Tin Tower would only toll when in the presence of Ho-oh.

As they look to the top of the tower a rainbow cascades through the clear blue sky above. Tongues of fire dance through the air as a loud cry is head above. Everyone in town is staring up in bewilderment as Ho-oh flies across the sky.

"Wow!" Tia is giddy as she saw the sight of yet another legendary Pokémon.

Both Tom and Morty quickly pull out their X-Transceivers. Both dial Lance at the same time and connect in a three-way chat.

"What is going on you two?" Lance asks in the confusing of getting two simultaneous calls.

Tom and Morty both speak at the same time. "I just saw Ho-oh!"

Lance's eyes widen, "Calm down you two. You're telling me Ho-oh flew over Ecruteak City?" Lance assumes that's where they are. They both nod, "I see, first Entei and now Ho-oh. The legends are certainly more active than they've ever been." Lance says to himself.

Tia walks over to Tom. "Who are you talking to?" She asks as she walks into frame.

"Tom who is that behind you?" Lance asks curiously.

"Oh right, this is Tia. I guess you two never formally met." He looks back at Tia, "Tia this is Lance of the Indigo League's Elite Four." He introduces him.

"Pleasure to meet you," she says politely.

"Likewise," Lance responds stoically.

"Isn't she a totally hottie?" Morty chimes in. Tia quickly runs over to Morty and smacks him on the back of the head. "Ow, it was a compliment."

"Wait are you three like right next to each other?" Lance asks with a look that clearly said, 'you two are idiots.'

"We were both so excited to tell you." Tom confesses rather embarrassingly.

Lance rolls his eyes, "Well, thank you for telling me. I'll keep you two posted on future developments. I also look forward to seeing your skills first hand Tia." Lance is really interesting in her training skills after how much Tom and the rest have built her up. He abruptly hangs up leaving them all speechless while they reflected on their early actions.

Tom finally speaks up, "Hey Morty, sorry I made that comment about your sister." At the same time Sabrina walks up to him taking his hand.

Morty shrugs, "I guess I had it coming. I did kind of drive you crazy. Plus, I may have not always been the most accepting about your relationship." He admits, now ready to give them his approval. It's as if Ho-oh's presence had a sort of calming effect on the two hot headed trainers.

"I'm glad you two are starting to get along." She gives them both a hug. "I have to get back to Saffron now boys." She begins to head off before Tom takes her hand.

"Can't you stay the night?" He asks with puppy dog eyes.

"No!" Morty and Tia both answer resoundingly for her.

Sabrina sympathetically kisses Tom. "Sorry dear, I really have to get back to the gym." She calls out her Alakazam. "It was nice seeing you again Morty, you too Tia." She smiles and gives her brother a playful grin. "Keep an eye on this one. She'll give you a real run for your money." She points at Tia before teleporting away.

Morty takes a sigh of relief. "Man, what a day. So how's about that gym battle Tia?" Morty is raring to go after his battle with Entei and near encounter with Tom.

Tia's eyes light up, "For once you're speaking my language." Tia jumps up excitedly and grabs her first Pokeball.

Tom yawns, "All I'm ready for is bed. Can't we do this tomorrow?"

Tia pouts, "No, Morty is offering so I'm taking him up on this offer." Tia looks back at Morty more determined than ever.

Morty gives her a cheeky grin and looks around as the sun slowly sets on them. "I have a better idea. We'll have a battle out here. This park was built for battling so why not use it?" He offers up his terms.

Tia nods, "As long as it still counts as an official match I'm game." Tia doesn't really care for how flirty he is, but she does like the way he thinks occasionally.

Morty smirks mischievously as he spun a Pokeball on his finger tip. "Then let's take this a step further and give it an hour. That way the sun is fully set and we can have our battle in the dark." His conditions have a very tempting allure to them, not unlike himself.

Tia is intrigued so and she'd couldn't possibly say no to a battle that was in such stark contrast to all of her other official battles. "You're on Morty." She boldly declares by pointing at him. "Don't think you and your ghosts will beat me just because you'll have the night on your side."

Morty laughs heartily, "You know, you're fighting spirit reminds me of another trainer I know all too well." He looks right at Tom. "I think you're rubbing off on her Tom." He laughs again and walks off back to his gym. "You have one hour to prepare; I'll be waiting." Morty's singsong voice did not quite convey his more intimidating nature, but he was too excited to care.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. Well we've now moved the series to Tuesdays at Noon (EST) for the next few months at least. All depends on how future scheduling works out after that. Making Sabrina and Morty siblings was a bit of a spur of the moment choice when I first wrote this chapter, but I'm glad I did it. Tia's also getting a lot more recognition for how strong she's becoming too. This was also a very humbling chapter for Tom too.<p> 


	50. Chapter 48: A Game of Shadows

Chapter 48: A Game of Shadows

The stage is set. Tia and Morty stand on opposite ends of the park with Pokeballs in hand. The night air is cool and the sky is pitch black with nothing but the moon's luminosity providing light on the two. Tom himself sat on a bench watching as the battle is about to unfold. Both Tia and Morty's eyes shine, reflecting the moon's eerie glow.

"I'll save you the speech. This is an official league match; you get it by now." He smirks and calls out his first Pokémon. His Misdreavus emerges and floats in the shadows on the night.

Tia smiles and decides to go with something as little different. "I know this is your first battle, but give it your best Scyther." Scyther emerges and he is more than eager to battle. Scyther sharps each blade against the other and slashes at the air. "Let's waste no time: Fury Cutter!" Scyther quickly complies and soars towards Misdreavus.

"Straight to the offensive huh?" Morty smirks as Misdreavus dodges with finesse. "Hex!" Morty's command was simple, but he was carefully analyzing every possible outcome.

A mass of dark energy flies towards Scyther. "Dodge it Scyther and follow up with Pursuit!" Tia's commands didn't seem to quite get through to Scyther though. Instead of dodging Scyther batted the Hex out of the way and slashes at Misdreavus with Pursuit. Tia looks stunned, "I said to dodge Scyther." Scyther just turns up his nose.

Morty's even a little surprised. "You just catch that one? He doesn't seem to like you very much." His comment unnerves Tia, but she continues anyway. Rather she would if Scyther hadn't ready let out another Pursuit taking everyone by surprise. "He's definitely not the most patient Pokémon." Morty comments as Misdreavus takes another hit.

"Scyther we can't just charge blindly." Tia tries to connect with her new Pokémon, but Scyther is having none of it. He aims for Misdreavus once more, but Morty was prepared.

"Astonish!" Misdreavus's eyes glow and the ghost rams into Scyther making him flinch. "Now Hex!" The attack was quick, but didn't have a lot of power behind it. Regardless, Misdreavus managed to damage Scyther which is all Morty wanted. Scyther quickly responds with a final Pursuit knocking Misdreavus out cold. "Scyther is strong, if not a little reckless." Morty says nonchalantly as he calls out his next Pokémon. "Come on out Haunter." His Haunter comes out and easily blends with the night sky. While still visible it is clear that his Pokémon was in its natural element. Scyther once again charges blindly at his foe. "You know Scyther you should really listen to your trainer. Sucker Punch." Morty calmly responds to Scyther's predictable attack pattern and counters it with a strategy.

The attack from Haunter surprises Scyther with a powerful blow before he could even attack. This on top of the damage already done to him by Misdreavus quickly knock out Scyther. Tia calls him back without a word. She looks disappointedly at the Pokeball, but continues on. "Flaaffy, you're up!" She calls out her Electric Type to combat the ghost next. "Be careful of that Sucker Punch." She cautiously decides her next move. In the meantime, Haunter is more than happy to attack with Night Slash after Night Slash. Flaaffy's speed was Tia's best bet at the moment. "Okay Flaaffy use Thunder Wave." Flaaffy is far more in sync with Tia's plans and sends a wave of electricity at Haunter. Sparks fly and Haunter appears to stagger a bit.

Morty chuckles, "Not bad, so you're the calm and calculating type too. Betrays your normal personality, but whatever." He is amused by this, but didn't let up for a second. "Haunter use Night Shade." Despite Haunter lagging behind it still manages to drop an over casting shadow to hit Flaaffy.

Flaaffy stammers after the attack and is immediately back on the offensive. "Flaaffy hit it with a Cotton Spore." Balls of fluff fly off all around Flaaffy and hurl themselves at Haunter. Suddenly Haunter is surrounded by fluff that is sticking to it and further impeding the ghost's movement. "Now let's see you avoid this one. Thunder Shock!" Tia's strategy works flawlessly as the severely slowed Haunter tries to evade the crash of lighting that flew off of Flaaffy and right at it. The entire park lights up in a blitz of light before fading in an instant. Haunter barely stood as static fly off of it.

Morty smiles, "Sorry Haunter, looks like we have no choice, Curse." Morty orders his severely weaken Pokémon. Haunter nods acceptingly. A spike manifests in front of it and plunges into Haunter. The Ghost faints, but not before a shadowy aura surrounds Flaaffy. Morty smirks calling out his next Pokémon. "Go Gengar!" Morty's final Pokémon comes out and immediately creeps into the shadows.

Tia wastes no time targeting it with a Thunder Wave in hopes to slow it down. Flaaffy can't seem to keep an eye on the target. "Keep an eye out for it Flaaffy." It's at this point she notices Flaaffy was taking damage despite not getting hit. "Oh no, I almost forgot about that Curse. Flaaffy we need to be fast. Morty's trying to wear out the clock."

Morty laughs, "Smart girl. Why waste my Gengar's strength when he can safely hide as your Pokémon slowly faints." Morty's plan was deviously brilliant and hiding in the shadows definitely gave him a huge advantage over her.

Tia stops and thinks for a moment. She glares at Morty and looks to Flaaffy. "Flaaffy turn around." She says stoically while Morty gives her a leery look. "Use Thunder Shock." Her command is met with confusion because she was now in direct line of sight for the attack. Flaaffy trusts her trainer nonetheless and fires of another burst of lightning. The bolts fly past Tia without her even so much as flinching. Without turning to see the results she looks at Morty. "You knew I'd be so focused on the battle that I'd never think to look behind me. I'd be too on edge to try and take my eyes off Flaaffy would be too risky." Tia assumes this was his plan all along and the staggered Gengar flying past her proved it.

Morty cracks a smile and claps, "Damn, you really are a top notch trainer." He looks at Flaaffy who was now barely standing. "Shadow Punch," his voice is menacing and dark to match Tia's intensity. Flaaffy goes down and Tia calls her back expecting nothing less. "Go Quilava. It's time we finish this." Quilava's fiery quills burn brightly illuminating the battlefield with the light din of his flames.

Tom just sat silently watching the two fight it out. Every subsequent battle Tia learned and grew stronger like her Pokémon. She was thinking in new and inventive ways and retooling her strategies to match her opponent. He felt a twinge of excitement as they battled and couldn't take his eyes off them. In a way he's reminded of his own youth, when he was just a kid starting out in the world.

"Too bad you're Pokémon's a walking candle while mine can hide all he wants." Morty brags and has Gengar hide once more.

"Ember!" Tia's abrupt command takes him off guard and hits Gengar as he tries to flee.

"Gengar looks like we're not going to get much chance to hide. So follow up with a Shadow Punch." Gengar flies forward with a shadowy fist and intimidating eyes fixated on Quilava.

"Before they connect use Flame Wheel." Quilava spits out fire which surrounds him and shields him from Gengar's attack and does a nice amount of damage itself. "Give it another Flame Wheel." Quilava curls up in a ball and spins towards Gengar this time to hit him not to block.

"Not so fast, Sucker Punch." Gengar quickly punches Quilava as he spun, but this didn't break her Pokémon's momentum for a second as he proceeded to plow right into Gengar. "Gengar Lick," Morty begins to look worried as Gengar licks Quilava in a vain attempt to paralyze him.

Quilava continues to roll around the battlefield while Gengar is forced onto the defensive. "Okay Quilava use Smokescreen." Quilava stops and shoots out a thick haze that is making sight nearly impossible at night. "Now keep using Flame Wheel into you hit Gengar." This was a simple command and a very effective one. Within seconds Quilava found Gengar and kept bashing into him. This was definitely unorthodox even for Tia, but it goes to show she knows how to utilize every move she has at her disposal.

The smoke clears and all that remained was Quilava and a fainted Gengar. Morty nods his head, "Well done, I gotta say this has been a great battle Tia." He begins to say before she cuts him off.

"We're not done." Her eyes were cold and sharp as her tone. This piqued both his and Tom's interest.

"What do you mean? I'm out of gym Pokémon." Morty explains, he obviously wasn't going to use his personal Pokémon for this battle.

She shakes her head, "I got my badge, but I want one more battle." She points to him and calls back her Quilava. "Against Darkrai." Her bold declaration takes them all off guard.

Morty himself is stupefied. "Tia there's no way you'd win you know that right?" He tries not to sound condescending, but she's could never expect to beat a legend with her team.

"Then there's nothing to worry about is there?" She continues to goad him.

He starts to consider her challenge, but the decision is made for him when Darkrai releases himself from the ball. He looks to his nightmare Pokémon and nods, "Alright, we accept." He says coolly as Darkrai waited for her to call out her Pokémon. "Go ahead and grab your strongest Pokémon. We can wait."

"Go Venasaur," Tia didn't miss a beat and calls out her first Pokémon who was itching for a battle.

Morty looks on in surprise, "You had this planned from the start?" He was even more impressed than before.

Tia nods and looks over at Tom. "You should leave Tom." She notices him shaking.

He tries to control himself, but Darkrai was getting to him. "No, I refuse to miss this battle." His normal toothy grin was replaced with one of a slightly more twisted nature. He laughs more manically as he slowly becomes more unhinged. To hide his expression he dawns his X mask.

Tia nods, "Alright Venasaur know this will be our toughest battle yet, but we can do it. Let's beat a legendary Pokemon!" She has the honor of making the first move. "Petal Dance!" Venasaur unleashes a flurry of razor sharp blades. Darkrai evades them with ease as he move. Darkrai's movements were so fast it was as if he was fading in and out of reality.

"Darkrai's speed is one of his strong suits. He's arguably one of the fastest legendary Pokémon out there." Darkrai is now right in front of Venasaur holding his hand up. "Dark Pulse." A wave of darkness pours over Venasaur; sending her flying backwards. "Shadow Force," Morty instructs Darkrai. Morty's whole personality turned dark and cold as the haunting void of Darkrai's eyes.

Tia is unnerved greatly, but tries her hardest to maintain her cool. She sees Darkrai slowly slipping into the ground. "Oh no you don't. Venasaur grab it with your vines." Venasaur stretches out her vines and wraps them around Darkrai's arm pulling him out and hurling him to the ground.

Morty looks amazed, "I've never seen someone stop Shadow Force like that. Very impressive; this will be a fun battle." Morty definitely wanted to see her fullest potential. Darkrai recovers and flies forward once more with another Dark Pulse.

Tia was prepared this time. Venasaur recovers, "Jump back and hit him with Petal Dance." She keeps up her strategy. This time with more success. Venasaur isn't as fast as Darkrai, but Tia's timing was perfect and left Darkrai wide open.

"Darkrai use Haze." Darkrai extends his hand once more and coats the arena in a veil of haze that sent chills up Tia's back. "Now use Shadow Force." Darkrai is deep in the haze and uses the chance to sink into the shadows.

Tia smiles, "Frenzy Plant!" Venasaur stands her ground and surrounds herself in thorny brambles on all sides. One of these brambles manages to hit and uproots Darkrai. Venasaur had more than enough power to make up for the lack of speed. "Now hit him with an Energy Ball!" She felt her victory getting ever closer. Her heart was racing from the excitement of going toe-to-toe with a legendary Pokémon.

Darkrai quickly slips back into the haze as he awaits Morty's next command. "Use Dark Void!" He goes for Darkrai's signature move. Venasaur is enveloped in darkness and dragged down before being put to sleep. Tia gasps while Morty just smiles triumphantly. "Now finish this with a Nightmare!" Darkrai flies up to Venasaur as another shadow passes over her and begins feeding on her nightmares dealing a substantial amount of damage. Tia's Pokémon faints and she quietly calls her back. "That was a good battle Tia, I never would have imagined you'd been able to take on Darkrai like that." Morty gives her his highest praise.

Tia smiles weakly and collapses. Tom quickly runs up and catches her. He breathes heavily, "You're exceeding everyone's expectations every day." He says to her quietly while his voice trembled. Tom looks to Morty. "She's not there yet, but someday she will be." He holds her up and starts to walk off.

"So she's a pseudo-legendary trainer." Morty laughs and gives Tom a hand holding her.

Tom smirks under his mask, "Yeah, yeah I guess you could say that. All I know is that she's a cut above the rest." She's grown immensely right before his eyes. She used to be a simple girl with no real knowledge of how to be a trainer to practically an expert battler in such a short time. He slowly calms down and removes his mask revealing his exhausted expression and sweat streaming down his face.

"I can see why my sister and you are so fond of her." Morty laughs and helps take her back to the center. Morty hobbles along with Tom while they carry Tia. They both couldn't help but laugh at how peaceful she looked. "This is probably the quietest I've ever seen here so far." Morty's remark gets a chuckle out of them both.

Tom lets the silence sink in a bit more before he finally speaks up, "Hey Morty, I'm sorry I've always been so ridiculously competitive with you." Tom confesses to probably one of his biggest faults.

"Hey, you have nothing to feel bad about. You have to be when you're around me. Otherwise, I'll be the competitive prick." The two laugh and continue on. They lay Tia down in bed at the center. Thankfully, not many people were around so it wasn't too awkward when they walked in. "Think we should get her changed or something?" Morty wasn't sure if they should just leave her lying on the bed.

"So you can cop a feel in her sleep? I don't think so." Tom knew Morty's true intentions, they were practically all over his face.

He raises his hands defensively. "Whoa, you've got it completely wrong. I would never do that." Tom didn't quite believe him though as he glared at him. "Fine, we'll leave her as is." Tom takes Morty's arm and pulls him out of her room and back into the main room.

"Thanks for the help, but you should probably get back to the gym now." Tom advises him as he checks the clock. Morty nods and steps out. Tom follows close behind and takes a seat. He sits and lets this all sink in for a moment. He begins to laugh uncontrollably. "This is getting really interesting." He was getting some twisted joy out of all this.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please do not forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. Well, this was certainly an interesting chapter for sure. I'm really happy with how this turned out. Tia and Morty's battle I feel is kind of a turning point in the series where I really stepped up my game in terms of making more dynamic and interesting battles, especially when it's a battle between two more powerful Pokemon like this one was. I don't think it was too surprising that she lost, but still I'm hoping it at least kept people guessing until the end.<p> 


	51. Chapter 49: A Mismatch

Chapter 49: A Mismatch

Tia wakes up early and stretches. She was wiped out from the battle, but fully recovered now. She looks across the room to the open window. She notices a figure in the chair nearby. A person, a woman given the body's shape, sat in all black with a white mask.

"Oh my god!" Tia leaps out of bed. "Who the hell are you?" She stops and thinks back to Celadon City where she thoughts she was dreaming.

"Do you… not remember?" Her voice is calm and distorted. A very disturbing and empty calmness. The mysterious woman tilts her head confused; never once breaking her gaze. Her single exposed eye is equally empty and calm.

"I do, you're that freak who was watching me sleep back in Celadon! What are you some sort of stalker?" Tia is furious by this sudden and disturbing intrusion.

"I'm not a stalker? I… do not think so?" She ponders for a moment.

"Tom!" Tia shouts at the top of her lungs.

Tom rushes in like a fire had broken loose. "Tia, what's the matter?" He looks around in a panic and notices the woman. "Why are you here?" He snarls.

She once again tilts her head. "Should it not be obvious?" She takes an awkwardly long pause. "Master… he is interested in her… skills." Her voice trails off awkwardly every time she speaks.

"That doesn't me you break into people's rooms and watch them sleep!" Tia rebukes feeling defiled. "Who are you anyway?"

"Six" She responds blankly.

"Six? Like the number?" Tia scratches her head.

"No… like my name… Six." Six rises to her feet and begins walking away.

"Hey you're not going anywhere until you tell me who sent you." Tia defiantly blocks the door. "Tom who does she work for?" Tia looks to him for help.

He balls his fist, "I can't tell you." Tom begrudgingly admits.

"Correction… he's not allowed… to tell." Six clarifies and waits for Tia to move.

"Why the hell not?" Tia is practically spitting fire.

"Unlike my past, this is actually classified." He hated hiding it, but he had no choice. "Let Six go Tia." He gives up.

Tia steps aside, "He expects… much of you… Tia." These are Six's final works as she departs.

Tia walks up to Tom. "So want to explain yourself?" She redirects her anger onto him.

"Believe me, I would if I could." Tom gets up. "Just forget that ever happened. Six has a weird way of handling things."

"That's all you have to say?" Tia says snidely.

Tom punches the wall. "Drop it!" His voice is full of malice and his actions made Tia tremble. He walks off while leaving her stunned. He takes a second to breathe. He hated manipulating peoples' emotions, but it definitely had its uses. He hears Tia tip toeing out of her room. "If you're looking for an apology then forget it. I'm in no mood to be a good person." He says spitefully.

"You say that like the Tom I know is just a façade. If that was the case then you'd never take off your mask." Tia says softly. Her comment hit deep; Tom had never thought of it like that. He'd always viewed himself to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. "Look, whatever that was must be pretty important. So I'll let it go for now."

Tom turns to her and smiles, "Thank you," he rests a hand on her shoulder. "You will know in time. Just know they are very important and secretive. That's just how they operate."

"I'll take your word for it and not ask you anymore." Tia smiles and walks out of the room with her supplies.

Tom followers her down stairs and to the main lobby. There an all too familiar face sat hitting on Nurse Joy. Joy looked a little weary of Morty's flirting as she tried to do her job. Morty notices the two of them and immediately moves on, much to Nurse Joy's relief. "Hey you two." He smirks.

"Hey Morty, who's Six?" Tia asks abruptly and without tact.

Both Tom and Morty are stunned by her question. Tom more livid she'd ask after he made it perfectly clear that was secret and she promised not to pry anymore. Morty stumbles, "Six? Never hear of her before." He immediately covers his mouth.

Tia raises a brow, "Who said Six was a girl?" Tia saw right through his tissue paper thin lie.

"Six sounds like a girl's name." He says completely straight faced.

"No it doesn't, it sounds like a number! Now, tell me everything you know about her!" Tia stomps her foot demanding an answer.

"I am afraid I can't." Morty uses the same scape goat.

Tia groans, "Fine, I swear you guys are so secretive."

Morty shrugs his shoulders. "Not my fault we're not allowed to talk about it." Morty's nonchalant attitude is not nearly as exasperated as Tom's. "So you guys heading out?" He smoothly changes the topic.

Tia sighs, "Yes, we need to get to Olivine City so I can get my next badge." She takes a second to call out her Togepi as well. "Plus, I want to trainer Togepi too." She holds her close and smiles happily.

"You're worse than Tom and his Cleffa." Morty jokes. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. You better not lose any battles. No one who beat me is allowed to lose." Morty says with a cocky smirk.

"That won't be a problem and someday I'll come back and beat that Darkrai of yours." Tia matches Morty's cocky attitude. She steps out of the center with Tom close in tow. "So how far is Olivine?" Tia continues forward without even looking back at Tom.

"Not too far; a few miles West of here. Why the rush?" Tom strides to keep up with her.

"I just want to get to Olivine and get my next badge. I'm really excited after last night's battle. I got to make sure I don't lose that momentum." Tia's fighting spirit is at an all-time high and she wasn't about to let it wane. She charges forward onward to Route 38. Along the way she spots a familiar red headed trainer.

She stops for a moment to question if she wanted to bother him. By the time she comes to a decision Silver had already noticed her. "Tia?" He immediately averts his eyes when she looks at him.

"Hey Silver," Tia's demeanor is a lot more nervous. "How has the training going?" Her weak attempt at small talk concerns Tom.

"I'm going to give you two a minute." Tom backs off feeling the thick tension in the air.

"So my training is going well. Yours?" Silver's usual cold attitude is far more awkward.

"What are we doing?" Tia groans. "We need to talk about what happened at the National Park." Tia starts blushing as she remembers that single fleeting moment.

"What's there to say? It was a mistake." Silver's attitude becomes cold once more.

"A… mistake?" Tia's heart breaks in a single instance. Her voice trembles and she sinks her head. "Just… a mistake." She tries her hardest to hold back tears.

Silver panics, "Damn, no that's not what I meant." He runs up to her and places his hands on her shoulders.

Tia looks up into Silver's eyes. Her eyes stung red as she held back her tears. "Then what the hell did you mean?" She tries to sound strong, but her voice was still trembling.

"I'm saying it not want I need right now." Silver tries to clarify. "What I did was in the heat of the moment."

"If it was in the heat of the moment what made you do it at all?" Tia still is not satisfied with Silver's answer.

He groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Because all my life I've been alone. Other than my mom, you are the only person who's ever really cared about me." Silver's confession hits deep.

"Silver that's terrible." Tia begins to feel sorry for him and slowly places a hand on his cheek. "You don't have to be alone all the time."

Silver removes her hand gently, but continues to hold it delicately. "It's all I know Tia. I've always been alone. Well, I'm not alone now; I have my Pokémon with me." He gives a faint smile. "What I'm saying is you deserve better."

Tia lowers her head, but she couldn't think of any way to convince him otherwise. Tom quietly walks up, "If that's what you think then that's your choice, but you still almost made a girl cry. I think you at least owe her a battle after that." Tom says with a goofy grin.

The two look at him confused, but both nod. Between trainers Pokémon battles were always a good remedy for difficult situations.

Tia and Silver stand opposite each other and call out their Pokémon. Tia takes this chance to train her Scyther. While Silver surprises her with a new Pokémon of his: a Skarmory. "Whoa, that's a sharp looking Pokémon." Tia admires Skarmory's steel coat, sharp beak, and equally sharp gaze.

"Alright Skarmory start with an Air Cutter!" Silver's orders reach Skarmory, but it chooses not to instead. I carefully watches and anticipates Scyther's first move. "Skarmory what are you doing? I said attack!" Silver is more than a little frustrated, but this level of defiance is not abnormal for this Skarmory of his.

Tia chuckles, "Can't quite control your Pokémon Silver? Scyther watch out for that Air Cutter. Use Agility to out speed Skarmory." Scyther instead chooses to charge forward towards Skarmory with a Fury Cutter at the ready.

Silver smirks, "Whose Pokémon isn't listening now? Skarmory launch forward and Peck it." Skarmory has none of that and instead decides to fly into the air and use an Air Cutter down on Scyther.

"Scyther use Agility to dodge it!" Tia shouts in frustration. Scyther opts to fly into the Air Cutter and take the hit. This gives it a perfect change to lung forward with another Fury Cutter.

Both trainers groan in frustration. "Why won't you listen to me?"

"Stop!" Tom shouts and step between the trainers and their Pokémon. Both trainers halt and look at him quizzically. The two Pokémon continue to exchange blows above him. "Do you two mind?" He yells at the Pokémon who both seem to back off before slowly descending.

"Tom what are you doing?" He walks up to Tia and then Silver taking both of their Pokeballs and return the Pokémon accordingly. He then walks off casually with the two very confused rivals following. He leads them both back to the Pokémon Center where he walks to a backroom. In it there are a few machines with places to place Pokeballs on each side. "Tia can you hand me that Metal Coat you won back in the Bug Contest?"

"Tell me why first?" She very impatiently protests.

He sighs, "The two of you have Pokémon with completely opposite personalities to your own. Scyther is more aggressive and prefers to charge right into the fray. Much like you Silver." Silver simply shrugs because he knows Tom is right. "Tia, you are more calm and calculated like Skarmory here. So I think it would be for the best if you two traded Pokémon."

Both Tia and Silver nod in approval. "The guy's got a point." Silver comments.

"Well if you're okay with it." Tia agrees and hands Tom the Metal Coat. He places it upon the trading machine and the two Pokeballs lift up into the device. An image of the two Pokemon appear and slide across the screen. The Pokeballs drop on opposite sides of their origin where Tia and Silver pick them up.

Silver calls out his new partner Scyther. Scyther instantly begins to glow to Tia's surprise. Silver seems to expect this. Scyther changes shape and completes its evolution into Scizor before their very eyes.

He recalls the Pokémon with a smirk. "Wow, that's so cool. I've never seen trade evolution before." Tia can't help but be amazed.

Tom walks out with Tia behind him, but she stops when she feels Silver take hold of her arm. She looks back silently and slowly makes eye contact with him. He speaks quietly. "Can I see Skarmory's Pokeball?" Tia nods and turns to face him. She holds the Pokeball in her palm. To her surprise Silver places one hand atop the ball and the other gently under her hand. "Take care of Skarmory. I will make sure to take good care of Scizor."

"Silver," Tia's voice is barely audible as she slowly steps closer to him. She is entrances in a similar way to their encounter in the contest. His deep, mysterious eye captivate her and makes her heart pound.

She leans forward and closes her eyes. She wishes to touch lips once more. For only a fleeting second, but she feels the soft press of his finger against her lips. She opens her eyes to see him looking away in shame. "I'm sorry Tia, but we can't. Not now at least."

She once more feels the sting of heart break as she simply smiles and nods to hide the pain. "You're right, I just got caught up in the moment." She puts Skarmory away and lets him walk by. She follows behind and watches him step out the door.

Tom stands to the side of the doorway with a worried look and awkwardly crosses his arms. "You alright?" This is a loaded question. He knows she isn't, but he isn't quite sure what she'll do. Tia instantly throws her arms around Tom and cries into his chest. He sympathetically caress her hair and puts his free arm around her. "I'm sorry Tia," Tom whispers as he consuls her. "Here, come with me. We'll find something to cheer you up."

Tia nods weakly and wipes the tears from her eyes. She sobs and cries a bit more, but she walks beside Tom. He puts a compassionate hand on her opposite shoulder as he guides her out of the Pokémon Center.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. So this wasn't quite a proper battle chapter, but I felt a little reprieve was in order after all that has been happening, plus it addressed a lot of the concerns about how the two felt about one another. Next chapter will be interesting, because this will be the first real instances of me completely replacing a character instead of changing their personality. I also wanted a chapter addressing how trade evolution occurs in the Sagas universe, which is pretty much the same, but up until this point I'd never really addressed it.<p> 


	52. Chapter 50: On the Road Again

Chapter 50: On the Road Again

Tia and Tom both sit calmly as they drink their tea and eat Slowpoke Tails. All the while five women in kimonos dance alongside their various Eevolutions. The theater is so peaceful and tranquil that it quickly makes Tia's previous heartache feel distant.

"Thanks Tom, this is nice." She finishes off her the last of her Slowpoke's Tail and continues to enjoy the show.

"Glad I could help. I didn't want you moping all the way to Olivine City. There are plenty of fish in the sea." He shrugs and finishes his snack as well. "So you ready to head out?" Although, Tom himself is perfectly content with just sitting back and eating Slowpoke Tails.

Tia nods and stands up, "I want to get my next badge sooner rather than later. Plus, I have to work off those Slowpoke Tails." Tia immediately picks up the pace with a brisk power walk out of the theater. Tom just rolls his eyes at her ever active lifestyle and quickly follows suit with Cleffa in his arms.

He lags behind a bit until he finally catches up at the city's exit. "There, I think you burned it all off." Tom himself seems a little winded after chasing after Tia and her absurdly fast walking. "Seriously, you walk way too fast. Olivine City isn't going anywhere." Tom speaks between breaths.

"Maybe you just walk to slow." She smirk and calls out her Togepi which she holds similarly to how Tom holds his Cleffa. "Come on we're already running behind because of those distractions before." Tia's definitely back to her usual self which makes Tom happy and exhausted at the same time.

The two young trainers continue on the road to Olivine City without break. Tia herself keeping a brisk pace with Tom trying to keep up without exhausting himself. Tia only rarely stopping to battle the occasional trainer. Still she didn't stop for long. Tom can admire her determination, but is concerned that she may just be running from a bigger issue. Either way it's something she will have to sort out for herself.

She runs up to another trainer to battle while Tom sighs and finds nearby bench. He pays no attention to the woman who was sitting on it already. Her face currently nose deep in a notebook and writing vigorously. Tom sits himself down with Cleffa and lets out a sigh to decompress. A gentle breeze passes over and a refreshing aroma passes by Tom's nose.

"It's been a while Tom." The woman speaks up without looking away from her notebook.

Tom practically jumps out of his seat. "Chante! Don't scare me like that." He takes a second to calm down at the rather unexpected company in his presence. "Sorry, you're one of the last people I expected to randomly sit down next to."

She sets down her notebook and shows her face. Her fair skin and long, black locks shine in the light as she wears a gentle smile. "Fate has a very interesting way of intertwining two people, no?" She speaks softly and with a certain finesse in her speaking. She also has a trace of a foreign accent. She reaches for a wine glass on small table beside the bench which she delicately drinks from.

"Please don't wax poetic with me right now." Tom rubs his temples.

"You seem frustrated. A certain object of your affect causing stress?" Chante speaks very affluently and with a bit of a deeper insight.

Tom shakes his head. "Sabrina and I are fine. I'm just traveling with the human equivalent of a Rapidash."

Chante giggles into her hand with a very refined elegance. "Like mixing oil and water I suppose?" She looks up and watches as Tia wastes another hapless trainer. "I must say she is quite spirited. Though hiding a deeper anguish." Her smile slowly fades and she watches Tia in action. "Who hurt her?" Chante ask half to herself and half to Tom. She speaks more rhetorically though.

"It's a long story. A guy kind of rejected her. I'm sure you don't care that much." Tom dismisses this. He's not about to bother her with the in workings of the life of a stranger. "She's strong; she'll move on."

"Your own empathy has grown since we've last spoke I see." Chante has a happy and proud look upon her otherwise aloof face.

"Yeah quite a lot. What about you? It's rare to see you out in public. Let alone in Johto." Chante has a habit of keeping herself busy and Tom knows this perfectly well.

"Even I get vacations Tom," she is quick to point out before she resumes writing.

Tia walks up a few minutes later with a sour look on her face. "Come on lazy bones. We have to get to Olivine City today." Tia is practically jogging in place as she waits for Tom to get up. This makes Chante laugh in her soft and elegant manner.

"My Tom, she is quite a spit fire." Chante hides a reserved grin behind her notebook.

Tia glances over at the backhanded comment. "Tom do you know this person?"

"Yeah, this is Chante of the Unova League." He politely introduces the refined woman.

Chante stands up and gives Tia a gentle hand shake. "Bon jour, it's a pleasure to meet you." Chante speaks with a very distinct accent.

"Nice to meet you as well. So you're from Unova, what's it like there?" This piques Tia's interest since she doesn't know much about the region.

"It is a lovely region, but I'm actually native to a far off land which doesn't have an established league of its own yet." This explains her foreign accent and language.

"Wait if you're in the Unova League then can we have a battle?" Tia's eyes light up.

Tom pinches the bridge of his noses. "Tia, she's on vacation. I'm sure the last thing she wants to do is have a Pokémon battle."

"I would love to battle you." She replies cheerfully as she reaches for a Pokeball. "A quick battle though. I still wish to write more whilst the beautiful weather persists." A soft breeze passes through Chante's long, black hair giving her an even more auspicious vibe.

Tom blushes and looks away. Chante turns towards him with sly grin. "I know what you're thinking." She speaks with a singsong voice.

"Sh-shut up, I can appreciate elegance." He tries to save face, and crosses one leg over another. Though he still seems a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, like Cynthia?" Chante mentions with a wink and subdued giggle.

"I will kill you!" Tom shouts out in embarrassment.

"Hey, that's my line!" Tia interjects, "Now let's have that battle."

"Oh yes, how rude of me." She tosses her Pokeball which reveals a Chandelure. "My dear Chandelure should be more suited for your level. One of my league Pokemon would simply be too overpowering." She wears an air of superiority about her as she looks to Tia.

"So long as it's still a challenge." Tia looks confident and calls out the only choice she has to match the Ghost/Fire Type. "Go Flaaffy!" Flaaffy bounces up and down excitedly and ready for another battle. "Start with Thunder Shock!" Flaaffy stands her ground and sends a jolt of electricity towards Chandelure.

"Calm Mind dear," Chante opts to let her Pokémon take the hit. The damage itself was minimal so she felt the best option was to set up her offensive at the expense of some damage. "Now use Shadow Ball." Chantelure hones its energy with Calm Mind and launches a powerful Shadow Ball immediately afterwards.

Tia is not worried though, "Charge forward Flaaffy." Flaaffy listens obediently and trusts Tia. She charges towards the Shadow Ball without fear and awaits Tia's follow up command. "Jump up Flaaffy!" In an instant Flaaffy hopes up and over the Shadow Ball. Avoiding the attack, but now completely exposed in the air. Chandelure suddenly appears before Flaaffy with another Shadow Ball charging. Tia smiles, "Show that Chandelure our new Electro Ball!" Flaaffy does a quick one-eighty and hurls a ball of electricity generated from her tail at Chante's unsuspecting Pokémon. The sudden impact is enough to knock Chandelure off kilter causing the Shadow Ball to completely miss its intended target.

Chante smiles as the two Pokémon land. She sizes up her own Pokémon who was injured, but not as much as Tia would have expected. Chante begins to clap. "I must say you show great promise Tia. You and your Pokémon are in perfect sync and you plan out every move a step ahead. Even have contingencies as well." Chante is about to speak once more, but is interrupted when Flaaffy begins to glow. "Oh, this is a surprise."

"Flaaffy's evolving?" Tia watches in awe as her Pokémon evolves in the middle of this intense battle. Flaaffy's wool all vanishes and her skin turns yellow. Once the process ends Flaaffy has evolved into Ampharos. Tia looks even more determined to win. "Alright Ampharos give that Chandelure an Electro Ball to remember."

Chante's expression changes as well. Her calm and elegant demeanor remain, but her eyes look a bit more wicked. Her light blue eyes give Tia a piercing, icy gaze. "I've seen all I need to see." She snaps her fingers and immediately Chandelure unleashes a powerful blast of fire at Ampharos.

Tom swallows a lump in his throat, "Inferno," he looks down at his hands as they quake in fear. When in the presence of another Empath it seemed to intensify his ability even more. Chante has the uncanny ability to interpret emotions with pin point accuracy and uses it to manipulate those around her. Mostly for good, but she knows how to strike a chord with even Tom. It's all over is all he can think.

"Thunder Punch!" Tia shouts triumphantly. Ampharos emerges from the flames completely unscathed. The Electro Ball was consumed, but the attack didn't connect with her Pokémon.

"I… missed?" The reality seems all too surreal for Chante. She knows Inferno is a gamble, but she never thought Tia's Ampharos would avoid it. The Thunder Punch connects with a powerful blow knocking Chandelure to the ground.

"Finish it with Electro Ball!" Tia points forward in victory as the attack hits point blank. Chnate was too stunned to react to Tia's onslaught of attacks.

After the dust settles she calls back her Chandelure and looks at Tia with a very pleased look. "Very impressive Tia. I must say I wasn't expecting you to beat me and my Chandelure." She grabs her notebook and begins to write intensely. "I've committed our match to memory and will use it as material for one of my future books." She looks up from the notebook with a soft look in her eyes. "I look forward to us battling once more in the Unova League." She saunters off with a happy swing in her step.

"I look forward to it. What city is your gym in?" Tia asks as Chante walks off.

She looks back and hides a chuckle behind her hand. "I'm not a gym leader. I'm one of Unova's Elite Four."

Tia hears her, but it takes a second to sink in. "Wait, the Elite Four?" She exclaims in disbelief that she just went toe-to-toe with an Elite Four member and won.

Tom laughs, "I gotta hand it to you Tia. You're making quite a name for yourself." He starts walking ahead. "Well, let's get going."

She shakes her head as she snaps back to reality. "One question though. Why did the mention of some girl named Cynthia get you so riled up?"

Tom winces, "No reason." He plays it off like it's nothing.

"Do I need to tell Sabrina?" Tia has plenty of ammo for this conversation.

"No," he raises his arms defensively. "She was just someone from the past I know. Nothing more, nothing less." He's not entirely convinced she believes him.

"Hiding this many secrets can't be good for you Tom." Tia shakes her head and walks off. "Plus, it's not fair to your friends."

He gives an exhausted sigh, "I fell in love with Sabrina the moment I first saw her. Even as a kid I knew she was the one for me. That's rare, very rare. But after that one fateful day I never saw her again until I eventually faced her in battle. I knew all I had to do is go to Kanto, but I was afraid to meet her. So I started traveling I trying to forget about her. I never thought a kid like me could get a girl like her. So as I travelled the world I met new people. One being Cynthia. Now she's a woman." He stops for a second and collects his composure. "I may have a thing for mature and elegant women. Sabrina being one of them of course."

Tia looks confused, "Sabrina is elegant and mature?" When she wasn't teasing Tia; she definitely was.

"Anyway, I kind of had thing for Cynthia, it was harmless. That doesn't stop Chante from bring it up though. Damn Empaths." He very ironically curses Empaths.

"You're an Empath." Tia points out the obvious.

"I know," he rolls his eyes. "So now you know. Anything else intrusive you want to ask me?" He throws up his hands in defeat.

"Who's Six?" She snickers.

"Your mom!" He shouts sarcastically.

She gasps, "What a twist." She laughs and walks alongside him.

"It's not that I don't trust you Tia. There are just things I wish I could forget." He says solemnly. "I'm not proud of a lot of things I did in the past."

"Stupid boy," Tia says playfully. He shoots her an irate gaze. "Tom, no one's perfect. I have seen you do great things to deal with whatever skeletons you have in your closet. Let me impart some wisdom on you. Always look forward; don't look back." For the first time Tom notices something in Tia he hasn't seen before. For as hyper active and impatient as she may be. Tia has a mature air about her. She has a soft expression that seems almost tranquil.

It almost makes him feel childish by comparison. "Thanks Tia. Such simple advice makes a whole lot of sense sometimes." She taught him something today. This is a sign, there's nothing more he can teach her. She has everything she needs to become an amazing trainer. She still has a long way to go, but she is the rival he's waited for.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, do not forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. People are probably immediately wondering who is Chante and why she exists. Obviously, she is the replacement of Shauntal in the Unova League. What's more, I created her in the Sagas Universe, because she's based off a character from a series of stories I've written, which really will never see the light of day. She's always been one of my favorite characters I've ever written so I wanted to incorporate her. There will be a lot more of her in the future.<p> 


	53. Chapter 51: Trouble on the Seas

Chapter 51: Trouble on the Seas

After a few hours on route to Olivine City Tia and Tom both arrive in the late evening. The sun has all but set on the port city and everything seems peaceful on the waters.

Tia takes a deep breath and smiles blissfully. "That fresh sea air and the view are all amazing! Don't you think so Tom?" Tia can hardly contain her excitement and she gets a glimpse of the city.

"Yeah and there's the famous Glitter Lighthouse. It's run by an Ampharos the gym leader, Jasmine; takes care of." He checks the time and notices that the lighthouse hasn't lit up yet. "That's strange?"

Tia taps Tom on the shoulder and points out to see. "That ferry's coming in pretty fast. Shouldn't the lighthouse be on right now?" Tia starts walking towards it with a leery expression.

"Something's not right here. Come on!" He runs past Tia and into the lighthouse. The two climb rapidly up the spiraling stairs and onto the top floor of the large lighthouse.

The two spot a young woman aiding a frail looking Ampharos and wearing a very concerned look. She spots the two trainers and quickly paces over to them. "Tom, what are you doing here?" The woman looks confused and concerned as she looks back at her sick Pokémon.

"Jasmine what's going on here?" Tom runs past her and looks out at the sea below. The ferry continues to advance closer at an accelerated rate.

Jasmine looks down at the sea too and begins to panic. "Oh no, we have to stop them. I don't know how though. Poor Amphy is sick and is in no condition to power the lighthouse." Jasmine herself doesn't look too well herself. The stress and worry seem to be getting to her as well. She is already a pale and petite woman, but the worry for her Ampharos has taken a toll as well. "I don't know what to do. My Magnemite can't power the generator on their own."

"Ampharos use Thunder Shock!" Tia calls out her own Ampharos in the nick of time and begins to power the lighthouse herself. "That should help. For how long I don't know."

Jasmine takes a sigh of relief. "Thank you, I never caught your name."

"Tia," she politely shakes Jasmine's delicate hand. "What's wrong with your Ampharos?" Tia can tell that it is not looking well at all.

"I don't know what's wrong with Amphy. I woke up this morning and went to check on her when I found her overheating and crying weakly." Jasmine sits down looking like a nervous wreck. "I contacted the pharmacy over in Cianwood City and they said they had a medicine to cure Amphy, but no one has come to deliver it yet." This has her all the more worried.

"We can get it for you." Tom steps in to volunteer his assistance.

"Yeah we can fly over there and pick it up for you." Tia is more than happy to help as well. She opens up the door to the balcony of the lighthouse and pulls out a Pokeball. Tom follows suit calling out his own Pokémon.

"Go Skarmory!"

"Go Flygon!"

The two trainers take to the skies rapidly as they fly over the calm seas below. Time is of the essence and both of them are aware of this. Tia's Ampharos can only power the lighthouse for so long and it's a long way to sunrise. Tia wants nothing more than to admire the ocean below, but they have a mission and she can't shake the feeling there is something more at play here. Skarmory struggles to keep up with Flygon's immense speed so Tom has his Dragon adjust accordingly.

Tia flies up beside Tom and starts shouting through the rushing winds, "Tom is it just me or does something not seem right here?"

Tom shakes his head, "There is something going on. The pharmacy on Cianwood is known through the region for its services. If they said they had medicine to help Amphy then they would have teleported right over in seconds." Something just isn't adding up in his mind and he's starting to fear the worst.

"Could it be Team Rocket?" Tia is on the same page and worries that they might be deliberately interfering.

"That's what I'm afraid of. They've been acting more discreetly than they did in Kanto. This must be a part of their secret agenda or end game plan. I mean after their seemingly random attack on the Slowpoke Well and targeting the legendary Pokémon. We still don't know what their goals in Johto are." Tom assess the situation for himself as Cianwood shows up on the horizon. "There it is. Get ready."

Tia nods, "I'm ready." Tia sees Cianwood comes into view. The pristine gem of an island sat peacefully on the water and for a fleeting moment filled Tia with a sense of calming. That feeling is quickly disrupted by the view from below. She notices a small store occupied by a lot of men in black with their Pokémon out. Amongst them Tia spots two small patches of red. Silver and Scizor locked in battle and heavily outnumbered. "Skarmory quickly dive down we have to help Silver!" In a flash her Pokémon nose dives towards the island with Flygon not far behind.

Skarmory lands softly with Tia who hops off before Skarmory once more takes to the skies. "Tia?" Silver seems surprised to see her, but definitely is happy to have the back up.

"Need a hand?" She jokes and sizes up the situation. "You've sure made a lot of friends. Skarmory use Air Cutter." Skarmory's wings begin to glow and rip through the air as it unleashes a powerful blast of force at the grunts' Pokémon.

"Scizor use Metal Claw!" Silver's Pokémon is still holding his own rather well despite the numbers. "There's no end to them." He grits his teeth as more Pokemon come out every time one goes down.

Suddenly flames come raining down from the sky on the opposing Pokémon. Tia and Silver hear joyful laughter from Tom above. "Burn!" Flygon unleashes a wave of Flamethrowers down on the weaker Pokémon. He laughs almost hysterically.

"Is he going to be alright?" Silver seems very concerned by Tom's maniacal outbursts.

Tia giggles, "Don't worry he's just having fun."

"I'd hate to see him angry"

"Yeah, you would." The two continue to advance through the grunts and to the pharmacy. Tia and Silver run inside and see the pharmacists tied up and gagged by the Rocket grunts. At the front of the group with a small bag of medicine is a red headed woman and an all-white uniform with black accents.

"Who do we have here?" She gives the two a once over and smiles. "The brat who took down Giovanni and Silver." She says with a teasing gleam in her eye.

"Who are you?" Tia asks forcefully. While making sure none of the grunts try anything funny. "How do you know who Silver is for that matter too?"

"I am Ariana, second-in-command of Team Rocket. I was Giovanni's right hand since the beginning and now I run the show." She boasts like any of them really care. "And that boy knows exactly who I am. Why don't you join us Silver. A trainer like you would be a perfect addition to the team."

"I will never join you! Team Rocket destroyed my family!" He shouts intensely and starts to breathe heavily with bloodlust in his eyes.

"Silver, you need to stay calm." Tia gently takes his hand and speaks softly.

"Destroyed your family? Your father willingly left you and your mother to pursue his true aspiration. Giovanni couldn't be held down by familial bonds." Ariana explains rather cold-heartedly which only riles up Silver further.

Tia looks over at Ariana, "Giovanni is Silver's father?" The words seem almost unreal. Silver is aggressive and hot headed, but she still can't believe Giovanni is his dad. "I understand now, this is why you isolated yourself." Tia holds his hand tightly. "Then instead of letting the anger control you. Channel it. Help me rip this organization apart once and for all." Tia smiles a very genuine smile before letting Silver's hand go. "Here goes something." She smirks and runs forward. Tia charges right towards Ariana and tackles her to the ground. "Damn that felt good." She quickly snatches the medicine and runs. She takes an equally surprised Silver's hand and runs for the door.

Ariana rubs the back of her head and climbs back up to her feet. "Get them!" The leader instructs her cronies to pursue the young trainers. Before long both Tia and Silver are completely surrounded. Ariana steps out more confidently. "I will take that medicine now if you please."

"What are you using it for? Without it many people could be in danger and the life of a very important Pokémon too." Tia holds the medicine close to her chest.

"Exactly, a little panic will give us a perfect chance to strike and take everyone by surprise." Ariana is more than happy to sacrifice lives for their end game. This sickens Tia.

"Then take it!" She throws it high in the air. Ariana and her grunts scramble hoping to get it when it comes down.

"I'll take that!" Tom snatches in the air with Flygon. "Try and take it from me – I dare you." The last part has a very chilling vibe to it.

"Tom get out of here!" Tia shouts up as Rocket grunts continue to try and hit his Flygon.

He nods and flies off at incredible speeds. Ariana looks up in amazement. "I heard about his involvement, but I never actually expected to the world champion to be actively involved in trying to take down Team Rocket." She laughs and looks back down to Tia and Silver. "You know that was your only real chance of winning that just flew away right?"

Tia shrugs, "I want to kick your butt myself." Tia calls down her Skarmory and recalls it back into its Pokeball. "You earned a rest Skarmory. Now it's your time to shine Quilava." She calls out her starter who is eager to battle.

"Go Feraligatr!" Silver calls out his own starter to help combat the grunts.

The two Pokémon quickly lock in combat with them playing two roles. The offensive to take down all the weaker Pokémon ambushing them from all sides. All while trying to protect Silver and Tia. Tia has her Quilava use a Fire Charge right into the fray and Flame Wheel to repel even more of the near endless wave of Pokemon.

Silver has Feraligatr on the defensive for the most part. The mighty jaws biting into every Pokémon it can with a combination of Crunch and Ice Fang is proving very affective, but a bit futile against the seemingly endless wave of Pokémon.

Quilava begins to show signs of fatigue and before is completely over run. Pokémon after Pokémon pile on top of Tia's Pokémon. "No Quilava!" Tia look on in fear that her Pokémon will be defeated. She closes her eyes and prays that Quilava will pull through. She has other Pokemon, but she knows Quilava's stronger than a bunch of weak Pokemon.

In a brief flash Tia feels something as if Quilava was reaching out to her or she was reaching out to him. Their minds were in sync and in that moment Tia knew that Quilava will be fine. In that instant a burst of light shines under the pile as flames rise and force off the weaker Pokémon. Finally, a towering figure throws off the last of the Pokémon. Tia's Quilava is gone and in his place stands a proud and powerful Typhlosion. "Alright, Flame Charge Typhlosion!" Tia cheers as her newly evolved starter wrecks every Pokémon in sight.

Typhlosion and Feraligatr slowly but surely turn the tide of this fight with every single Pokemon they take down. Ariana begins to sweat and secretly slips in her own Arbok into the fight to take Typhlosion by surprise. It slowly slithers toward Typhlosion – ready to sink its teeth into Tia's Fire type. It rises up and unlatches its jaw with venom dripping from its fangs as it begins to lunge forward.

In the blink of an eye a Pokémon runs up and punches the Poison type with a mighty blow and freezes it instantly. "This is why I hate tourists!" A loud booming voice laughs. Tia and Silver both look over and see a man with raggedy pants on and nothing else. He has very muscle arms, but an oddly rounded gut. As well as side burns that would make any man jealous which lead into his mustache. "And now the follow through Hitmonchan!" The mysterious Pokémon was none other than a Hitmonchan who runs through the crowd picking out the strongest Pokémon and attack them. One with a Fire Punch and another with a Thunder Punch. Both Pokémon getting knocked out immediately.

"Who is that?" Tia can't believe her eyes.

Silver smirks, "Your next opponent. Chuck, the Cianwood City gym leader. He's no push over." He's not too concerned with that however and continues to fight.

Tia herself sees a clearing and heads right for Ariana with her Typhlosion. "It's over now!" She has her cornered and the grunts are all beginning to retreat.

"I won't give up without a fight!" She calls out her Murkrow which flies forward right at Typhlosion. Hitmonchan once more steps in and Thunder Punches the Pokemon out of the sky.

"Sorry to take the fun, but these invaders have been giving my home and gym a lot of grief." Chuck runs up beside Tia.

"No problem at all." Tia continues to give chase as Ariana calls out her last line of defense – a very unfortunate Vileplume. Tia laughs, "Flame Charge!"

"Fire Punch!"

Both Pokémon run up and burn Vileplume with a single hit. Ariana has no choice but to surrender. She begrudgingly throws up her hands in defeat. "This isn't over." She growls.

"Really? Proton was defeated once already, Petrel was misplaced in time, and you're off to jail." Tia grabs at Ariana's belt grabbed the remaining Pokeball. "This Abra won't help you either." She smirks and tosses it back into Silver's hands.

"We've seen that little contingency plan before." Silver presses down on the button and releases the Pokémon. He then proceeds to smack the Pokeball under his foot. The Abra looks around aimlessly before teleporting away.

"It's over," Tia takes one arm while Chuck grabs the other.

Officer Jenny arrives with a whole team of officers flanking her to arrest the grunts who were stuck on the island. Chuck saves Tia and Silver the boring effort of telling the police every little detail. They are both thanked and awarded accordingly as well.

An hour later the sun has fully set and Tia sits in the center as her Pokémon are healed. "Thanks for sending Ampharos Tom." She stretches her arms as she talks to him on screen.

"No problem, Amphy is feeling way better now thanks to you." Tom gives her a thumbs up. "Jasmine wants to thank you personally when you return."

"Awesome, I'm challenging Chuck tomorrow. After I win I'll head back to Olivine City." She says confidently. She doesn't want to sound cocky, but she is confident in her skills.

"Alright, I'll just be chilling here waiting." He jokingly reclines back in his chair and kicks up his feet.

"Okay, see you then." She waves goodbye and hangs up. She hops up and looks out the door. She quickly walks outside and walks to the beach. She sees a shadow sitting on the sand.

She walks up to a melancholy Silver and sits down beside him. "Hey," he quietly addresses her, but continues looking out to sea.

"Hey," she sighs as she feels like there is a wall between the two of them. "You and your Pokémon fought really well today." She wants to compliment him, but it still feels superficial and forced.

"You too," Silver himself isn't giving her much to work with.

She finally decides to bring up the tense subject. "You're nothing like your father Silver." He looks over at her with wide eyes. He faces her without a word. Tia quickly seizes the change and kisses him. Their lips part and Tia slowly caress his cheek. "You are a good guy. Even if you don't see it." She whispers softly and looks into his eyes. "The kind of guy I could-" She is quickly interrupted by Silver placing his finger over her lips.

"Please don't Tia." He voice trembles. He tries his hardest, but a few stray tears escape his eyes. Tia herself can't help tear up slightly too. "It's been hard growing up. No one ever helped me. No one ever cared." He slowly wraps his arms around her. "Until you. For that I'll always be grateful." He knows what he wants to say, but what he wishes are totally different. "We can't do this Tia. At least not now. I'm sorry." He lets her go and stands up. He calls out his Feraligatr. He turns back to her with a smiles before riding off on his Pokémon into the see.

Tia just sits and watches him surf off. She whispers to herself, "_The kind of guy I could fall in love with._"

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. So this was a fun one to write I remember. This is basically the first step in a huge chain reaction of what really develops Tia into the character she becomes for the rest of the series moving forward. Plus, setting up the fact Tia has very strong feelings for Silver.<p> 


	54. Chapter 52: Fighting Spirit

Chapter 52: Fighting Spirit

It's bright and early in the morning and Tia is up and raring for a battle. She isn't in any huge rush, but she is certainly excited to face off against Chuck for her fifth gym badge. She grabs her bag and heads out of the Pokémon Center as the sun comes into view on the horizon. She takes in the sea breeze with a wide smile. She hadn't had a chance to admire it before, but Tia really does love the ocean. She takes in the sights a bit more as she heads towards the gym. In the distance she spots a large cave to the north and an enormous water fall as well. The island seems to be filled with mountainous terrain as well. Tia can understand how Chuck is so muscular; you'd need to be an expert hiker to navigate this island outside of town.

Tia makes her way to the gym and steps inside to a shocking sight. Chuck is up bright and early sitting underneath a colossal waterfall. He sits there with his eyes closed and breathing calmly. Tia quietly approach which seems to immediately alert his attention.

Chuck rises to his feet and steps out from the waterfall. Her walks over to a large rock about half his size and lets out a powerful roar. He lifts the rock in a single action and proceeds to toss it about ten feet away. "Welcome to the Cianwood City gym young trainer!" He bellows with a hearty tone.

Tia is a little taken aback by Chuck's feats of strength. That rock easily had to weight more than she did and definitely way more dense. It's both impressive and a little terrifying. "Thank you, I'm ready for my gym battle!" Tia matches his confidence and faces him head on.

Chuck laughs with an echoing boom in his voice. "That's true battling spirit right there!" He grabs two Pokeballs and walks past Tia. "I know it's usually league policy to battle in a gym, but I much prefer battling in the open air. I'm guessing you're not opposed?"

Tia nods, "I'd love to battle outside." She looks around the gym. Equipment and rocks are scattered all over the place. "Besides, this place seems a little cluttered."

Chuck laughs as he steps out the door. "I do most of my training in the gym or around the island. So I constructed a battle arena on the top of that cliff." Chuck points to a very high point of the mountain overlooking the sea. The only issue is that it's got about half a mile's worth of stairs to climb to get to it.

Chuck runs on ahead of Tia, but she keeps hot on his trail. The run up the stairs at full speed, but about half way up Tia begins to feel winded. "How… can… he… run… like… this?" She pants between breaths as she wipes sweat from her brow.

Chuck reaches the top while Tia slogs her way up. "What's the matter Tia, giving up already?" He goads her with his loud voice and cocky smile.

"Not a chance!" She shouts back at him and runs the rest of the way to the top of the mountain. "I did it!" She boldly declares before her legs collapse. She sits for a moment and collects her breath. Chuck passes her a bottle of ice, cold water. Tia drinks it down as fast as she can and pours a little above her head to cool off. "I needed that." She laughs and lets out a sigh.

"I will hand it to you. Most trainers take forever to climb those steps. You powered through them like a champ." He pats her on the shoulder.

Tia smiles, "Thank you, but now I'm regretting not having a sports bra on." She tugs that the collar of her shirt to air herself out. She quickly stands up and prepares herself for battle. "Alright, I'm ready!"

Chuck laughs once more with a hearty bellow that seemed to carry for miles. "A strong body, sharp mind, and ironclad willpower are the true keys to victory in any Pokémon battle. Your Pokémon may do the hard work, but they rely on you as much as you rely on them to win. If you can't lead by example then how are your Pokémon supposed to win?" Chuck's speech really speaks to Tia. She couldn't agree more.

"Absolutely," she grabs her first Pokeball and calls out Skarmory. She is very well aware that she has the advantage, but she isn't about to underestimate Chuck and his Hitmonchan. She can't see her Skarmory taking too many hits from those elemental punches its packing.

"A strong start, go Hitmonchan." He calls out the Pokémon he used previously against Team Rocket. So Tia at least has a slight advantage. "Don't think you have the edge because you've seen him fight before."

"Oh trust me, I don't. You're not the only one with a trick or two up your sleeve either." Tia is just as confident as Chuck, but she isn't feeling as cocky as she usually does.

"That's what I like to hear. Let's begin with Fire Punch Hitmonchan." Chuck's Pokémon's fist ignites and charges forward with a powerful, flaming punch.

Tia anticipated this much and responds accordingly. "Skarmory fly up so it can't reach you!" Skarmory is quick to take the skies as Hitmonchan narrowly misses and stumbles forward punch a large rock in front of it. The rock crumbles and give Tia a good idea of the sheer force Hitmonchan had behind that attack. "Skarmory use Air Cutter!" Skarmory's wings light up and cut through the air which unleashes sonic blades towards Hitmonchan who only just managed to dislodge his fist from the rubble. It's a solid hit, but the damage doesn't seem to both him too much.

"Hitmonchan run up those rocks and give that Skarmory a Thunder Punch!" Hitmonchan shouts loudly and proceeds to start running and jumping up a series of rock before it jumps up with a furious leap. Hitmonchan flies forward and punches Skarmory in the side. The force knocks Skarmory out of the sky and collide to the ground. Hitmonchan lands close behind it.

Tia looks absolutely stunned. "Well _that _happened!"

Chuck smiles proudly, "Not even the skies are a limit to us. I trained all my Pokémon to learn to overcome their weaknesses." He focus once more on Skarmory. "Now, let's see a true Fire Punch Hitmonchan!" Chuck's voice echoes loudly with great vigor.

Tia notices it would be way too late for Skarmory to recover and dodge so she takes her offensive and turns it into her defensive. "Skarmory block it with Steel Wing." Hitmonchan's fist flies towards Skarmory, but Tia's strategy pays off. Skarmory's Steel Wing blocks the attack and absorbs most of the damage. "Peck!" Skarmory's sharpen beak glows as it lunges forward at Hitmonchan and pecks at his head vigorously.

Chuck stands stoically and watches Skarmory's movements. "Before it can escape give it a Mach Punch!" Hitmonchan manages to duck and weave through a few pecks and punches through Skarmory's defenses.

"Get out of there Skarmory!" Skarmory manages to break free of the assault, but just barely. Skarmory awkwardly takes to the skies and recovers from the beating it just took. "Okay Skarmory, I want you to put your all into this Steel Wing!"

"Thunder Punch Hitmonchan!"

The two Pokemon both come at each with all their might before collided with a single explosive strike. A huge wave of energy knocks up loose rocks and dirty with covers the arena in dust. After it all clears all that remains is Hitmonchan standing victoriously over Skarmory.

"No way," Tia begrudgingly recalls her Pokémon and calls out her next one. "Go Typhlosion!" Tia knows that Hitmonchan is severely weakened so she can at least use that to her advantage, but that Pokémon is a powerhouse through and through. "Start off with a Fire Charge!" Typhlosion runs right for Hitmonchan who is ready and willing to face Tia's next Pokemon.

"Hitmonchan dodge left!" Chuck is being more careful now. He knows one solid hit and Hitmonchan will be down for the count. Hitmonchan sidesteps and aims for Typhlosion's back. "Mach Punch!"

"Quick Attack!" In the same instance as Hitmonchan's Mach Punch Typhlosion uses Quick Attack to dodge out of the way. Hitmonchan's hand gets wedged in the rock leaving it wide open. "Finish it with another Flame Charge!" Typhlosion's speed continues to increase until it's just a blur as it hits Hitmonchan in a huge burst of fire.

The smoke clears and this time Hitmonchan is the one knocked out. Tia cheers while Chuck calls out his next Pokémon. "Very good Tia, but can you handle this?" He calls out his second and last Pokémon: Hitmonlee. This kicking fiend is ready to battle and is not about to lose either. "Meditate Hitmonlee." Hitmonlee starts off calmly as it hones its skills and mentally prepares for the battle.

"Let's not waste any time here Typhlosion. Use Flame Charge!" Typhlosion is brimming with energy as he charges towards Hitmonlee.

"Jump!" Hitmonlee leaps high into the air and easily avoids Typhlosion's oncoming assault. "Jump Kick!" Hitmonlee stretches out his leg and careens towards Typhlosion. The sudden impact to his back knocks Typhlosion to the ground and stuns him. "Brick Break," Chuck's attitude seems a bit more menacing and stoic. He isn't quite as animated which makes Tia worry. With a single mighty hit Typhlosion sustains a large amount of damage. "One more Brick Break!" He shouts with the same zeal as before.

"Roll out of the way!" Tia acts fast and has her Pokémon roll out from under Hitmonlee's powerful legs. "Ember!" She starts to create distance between her Pokémon and his. The Ember takes Hitmonlee by surprise, but the damage is minimal.

Hitmonlee continues to power on through and does one final Jump Kick doing in Typhlosion. Tia stands speechless as her starter goes down. "That Hitmonlee is a huge threat." She thinks for a minute about her remaining options. She decides to call out her Ampharos in hopes that her Electric type could keep a good distance away all while dealing steady damage.

Hitmonlee runs forward with another Jump Kick. Tia is prepared this time. Her Ampharos is slow, but this doesn't mean she can't still predict Hitmonlee's movements. Jump Kick is very high risk, high reward fortunately.

"Ampharos slide underneath Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee is a high jumping Pokémon and Tia uses this to her advantage. By having her Pokémon run up and slide under Hitmonlee that leaves his chest completely exposed. "Alright, now Electro Ball!" Ampharos swings her tale and unleashes a bright ball of electricity right as the exposed Hitmonlee. The damage is pretty crippling, especially mixed with the crash damage Hitmonlee incurred from missing the attack. "Perfect! Now run forward with a Thunder Punch!"

Chuck laughs, "This is one of the most exhilarating battles I've had in all my years as a gym leader!" He praises Tia's battling style, but he is done taking the abuse. "Brick Break!" As Ampharos closes in for the attack Hitmonlee quickly kicks up his leg and nails Ampharos right in the jaw. The stunning blow cause Thunder Punch to miss completely and leave Ampharos completely open to the next barrage of attacks. In seconds Ampharos is down and out leaving Tia with only one option left.

"Go Heracross, we have to win this!" She gets herself and her Pokémon fired up for one last epic stand against the mighty Hitmonlee. She points up and shouts. "Take to the sky. High in the sky. We can't let that Hitmonlee get to you." Heracross speeds off into the air and makes sure to create a lot of distance between the two of them.

Chuck laughs, "I already told you: the sky is no limit for us! High Jump Kick!" Hitmonlee crouches down and jumps up with all his might. The impact from the jump creates a crater in the ground. Hitmonlee speeds toward Heracross like a bullet. Both Tia and Heracross are too stunned to do anything in response. Hitmonlee reaches Heracross and with a spinning kick and nails Heracross sending him down to the ground at an incredible speed. Another huge crater is formed and Heracross very slowly gets back up.

"This can't be happening. Heracross Swords Dance!" Heracross shouts as swords surround him to empower him. Tia plays it defensively as Hitmonlee flies forward with another Jump Kick. "This is easy to predict." Tia is confident in her words as Hitmonlee approaches.

"Oh really now?" Chuck seems equally confident.

Tia knows her plan will work and she gives Heracross the order. "Jump!" She puts all her faith in Heracross being about to understand her plan. She closes her eyes and breathes. The next sound she hears is Heracross lifting off and landing. Sure enough her plan worked. Chuck's Hitmonlee strikes the ground in front of Heracross as he jump back right as the kick would have connected. "Close Combat!" Heracross attack violently at Hitmonlee and proceeds to heavily damage Chuck's kicking fiend.

"It's not over yet. Brick Break!" The two are locked in intense combat. Kicking dust and rubble as each strike hits the opponent. Neither giving up for a second. The two finally jump back and stand opposite one another.

Hitmonlee and Heracross both look very fatigued and about to collapse. Hitmonlee stumbles and falls on one knee. Heracross stands stoically before collapsing in one single action. The battle is over and Tia lost.

She wipes the sweat from her brow as she look on in shock. "We lost?"

Chuck claps, "I must say you fought admirably. You lost, but there is no shame in that battle. In the end it was attrition that won out the day."

Tia herself begins panting like she was the one battling. "I've never had such an intense battle in my life. What's going on?" She calls back Heracross and obverses her hands that are shaking uncontrollably. Her palms are sweating and her heart is pounding.

Chuck walks up to her. "That is your Ki in action. That extra burst of energy that helps your Pokémon pull through. The ironclad willpower, battling spirit, and sharp mind all trains need to be masters. Your body, mind, and soul should go into every battle you fight."

"My Ki?" Tia seems confused by Chuck's foreign concept. "What is this?"

Chuck gives her a serious look. "You have an immense amount of Ki untapped inside you. Starting tomorrow I will train you and your Pokémon so that you may unlock your true potential." He walks past her. "Take a day to rest and we will start bright and early tomorrow. Make sure you dress accordingly."

Tia watches him walk away trying to process all this. She wants to know what this Ki he mentioned really is and she wants to beat him. So she will learn from him if she has to.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and series as a whole. So this chapter is basically the start of a whole huge turning point in the series ans Tia's character. Everything in her training has led to this and I'm excited to show off what's to come.<p> 


	55. Chapter 53: Ki to Victory

Chapter 53: Ki to Victory

Tia lies in bed as she recounts the events of yesterday. She can still feel that wild surge that helped her through the battle with Chuck, but still ultimately lost. She recounts the events after that. Returning to the Pokémon Center to heal her, call Tom to tell him it will be a little while longer before she can return, and then collapsing on her bed upstairs. Everything else is a blur as if her body did it instinctively and without thought.

She does as she did the day before and got up bright and early before the sun. She is a little more fatigued, but overall she's as eccentric as always. She begins to get changed, but remembers what Chuck told her. Instead of her normal clothes she grabs a red sports bra with white accents and a white Pokeball symbol on it. As well as matching bike shorts. Before stepping out she ties her hair up in a ponytail and double checks its length. She'd never really thought about it until now, but her hair is a lot longer than when she started her journey back in Kanto. It's grown to the point it's now halfway down her back.

She steps out once more and is greeted by the sea's breeze. This is something she will admit she loves. She looks over the sea as the sun slowly climbs the sky. She feels one with nature when she is this close to the ocean.

She quickly makes her way to the gym where once more she sees Chuck meditating under the waterfall. Tia quickly approaches him, but he is well aware of her presence. "I'm here for my training." She speaks softly, but confidently.

Chuck nods without opening his eyes. "Very good, now please sit." He motions over to a spot next to him under the raging waterfall. Tia wince at the thought, but Chuck is not about to take no for an answer.

Tia begrudgingly sits down under the waterfall as it pelts her head and back. "Ow," she grits her teeth and bares it. Chuck does this every morning so it must help him be a better battler somehow.

Chuck nods, "Very good, now close your eyes and clear your mind. The essence of meditation is being about to free your mind of worldly distraction. It is you and you alone in the universe." Chucks speaks very profoundly as he instructs her through the process.

Tia does just this. She closes her eyes and begins to think of nothing at all. She focus on just an empty, black image in her mind. The waterfall unfortunately distracts her quite a bit as she attempts to focus. She finally seems to find herself as the rushing water just seems to fade away. She begins to breathe steadily as if this was all a natural process. All her senses begin to relax and her whole mind begins to feel more at ease and peaceful.

Tia sits in her own little world as if all of reality has faded away into the void around her. She can see herself battling with her Pokémon. Their every action slowed down as her mind analyzes them move for move. Tia's noticed ever since she's come to Johto her style of battling as changed drastically. She learned to carefully observe her opponents and her own Pokémon all the time and more over she's learned not to run head first into battle. While she is not the most patient individual there is a huge difference between when she is in and out of battle.

Tia feels a gentle tap on her shoulder which brings her back to reality. She looks up at Chuck who is standing up under the falls. Tia silently follows suit. "What do you feel right now?" He asks in a quiet, stoic voices.

Tia pauses for a second, "Peace," her reply is simple and complemented by a soft grin on her face. She closes her eyes once more and lets the water's rush over her body as if cleansing her of worries and doubt.

What feels like seconds pass in a blind of an eye as Tia's breathing become subdued and calm. A gentle tap on the shoulder slowly guides her back to reality again as she feels the water once more passing over her and the air around her moving. Slowly opens her eyes to let the bright lights of the gym in. She notices a small clock and is amazed to see she'd been meditating for the last hour. She sees Chuck looking over at her quite pleased.

"Very good, this is step one to channeling all that Ki you keep locked up inside you." His stoic voice demonstrates a calm tone.

"You've still never told me what Ki is." Tia questions what kind of special force this Ki Chuck is referring to does.

He nods, "I shall tell you everything I know about Ki." He sits in front of her with his legs crossed. "Ki is a force as subtle as fate itself. You know what psychics are correct?" He looks at Tia who quietly nods. He figured she had some experience with it if she's battled Sabrina. "As you know Psychics manifest the abilities of their own brain into a force. Ki is a manifestation of one's fighting spirit, will power, and determination. Ki doesn't grant you special powers like a Psychic or give you a sixth sense like Empaths and Aura Seers. Ki gives you that slight edge in battle. That extra burst of power that keeps your Pokémon going no matter the opponent. Ki does not substitute real strength, but aids your existing Pokémon's strength by sparing some of your own. Have you ever felt especially exhausted after a difficult battle?" He asks her a question she never really thought about before.

"Yeah, even though I'm not fighting I feel like I just went through a work out. Like when I fought Morty and Darkrai." Tia quickly pipes up and covers her mouth.

"You've gone toe-to-toe with a legendary Pokémon?" Chuck takes a second to let out a very boisterous laugh. "You're exceeding my expectations every second!" He regains his composure and continues. "That was your Ki at work. Everyone taps into it in especially tough battles, but there are select few who have larger, untapped, pools of Ki within them. These are the special trainers who can hone their Ki into a resource they can call upon in battle. Again, I cannot emphasize this enough: Ki is not a substitute for true strength. It gives your Pokémon that extra surge of power in conjunction with their trainer. You and Pokémon truly become one in battle."

Tia takes a second to process all this, "I understand, like I said before. I may have lost to Morty, but I could feel my connection with Venasaur was stronger than ever. Like I was battling Darkrai side-by-side with her. I felt every rush of the battle and every hit almost felt like I was the target. It didn't hurt, but my body still reacted and I was winded afterwards. That's why Hitmonlee stayed standing. Your Ki aided him and kept him standing." Tia recognizes how she lost almost instantly which further impresses Chuck.

"Very good, you're a quick learner. Tell me: why do you want to be stronger?" Tia can tell that Chuck's question is a load baring one so she takes a minute to give the best answer she can.

She smiles, "To prove that I can be the best and someday beat Tom," her response surprises Chuck who simply raises an eye brow, "is what I would have said." She continues with a much more serene tone in her voice. "Now that I've come to understand what it means to be a strong trainer it makes sense to me. I want to be strong so I can protect those around me. I don't want to be like Team Rocket who uses to power to force others to do their bidding. I don't want to be strong for the fame, I've seen what that gets you. I don't want to be strong so people think I'm better. I want to be strong so I can help others." Tia smiles warmly at Chuck knowing that her answer was from the heart.

"Very good Tia, I couldn't have said it better myself. I asked Silver the same question. I'm sure you can guess his response." Chuck shakes his head feeling Silver has so much wasted potential.

"His father is Giovanni. He wants to be strong so he can defeat Team Rocket and get revenge." Tia wipes a tear from her eyes. "He cuts out the people who care about him so he only has to depend on himself. Like he always had to."

"You care for the boy don't you?" Chuck can see it in her eyes.

She nods silently, "I just wish he'd let me in. I want to help him." She fights back a few more tears. She clutches her chest, "It hurts," her voice quivers as she shakes.

"You still can, but first let us begin your Adept training." Chuck rises to his feet and offers her a hand.

She looks up and takes his hand, "Adept training?" She understands this is a part of her Ki training, but he never mentioned anything about Adepts.

"In ancient times people who could control Ki exceptionally well were called Ki Masters, but over time the name Adept took its place. You're an Adept Tia. Much like how Tom is an Empath and Sabrina is a Psychic. Deep inside you is something much more than what normal people possess." Chuck can speak from his own experience and he knows firsthand Tia has the will of an Adept inside of her.

Her eyes light up, "You really think so?" She would have never figured that she had the will of an Adept or really anything that separated her from a normal trainer.

"I know so, now come on. We're starting your training today. After we're finished you'll be able to beat just about anyone." He gives her a thumbs up and walks outside.

Tia is practically bursting with excitement. "Awesome! Where do we begin?"

"To hone one's will and spirit we need to train your body as well. If you have no strength of your own then what is there to lend to your Pokémon?" He brings up a good point as Tia follows him to the base of the mountain they climbed to get to the battlefield. "We'll start off easy run up to the top as fast as you can." Chuck takes a head starts and running up the stairs at an incredible rate.

"Hey wait for me!" Tia gives chase, but very quickly loses her breath half way and begins to slow down.

"Is that the best you've got? What a waste!" Chuck goads her from the top to give her that extra boost of energy. "Come on we don't have all day!" Tia uses the last burst of energy she can muster to power her way to the top. She reaches the top and starts panting. "Good now give me one hundred push-ups!" He shouts loud enough for a huge echo to ring out across the mountain range.

"You're kidding me!" Tia is still barely catching her breath and now he wants her to do one hundred push-ups.

"Two hundred push-ups or do I hear three?" This gets Tia to react. She drops to the ground and begins her two hundred push-ups. She is very quickly realizing that Chuck will be showing no mercy when training her. So she will have to learn to endure it quick.

After the exhausting work out she collapses to the ground a rolls over. Chuck tosses her a bottle of water to refresh herself with. She takes a few large gulps and pours a large amount on her head to cool herself off. "Thank you," her voice is ragged and exhausted.

"Get up we've only just begun." He shouts once more prompt Tia to jump up out of fear of doing more push-ups. "Now the easy part. We are running all the way back down. Don't trip." Chuck takes off running once more and runs down the large expanse of stairs. Tia isn't too far behind. Gravity is doing most of the work for her so she can at least regain some of her strength.

"Okay…" She still finds it hard to catch her breath and her legs feel like they're on fire.

"Let's go!" Chuck immediately runs back up with the same vigor as before.

"He's trying to kill me." Tia's agony is starting to drag her down as she can barely run half the speed she was before. She struggles to climb the latter half of the stairs and fight physical exhaustion. Tia has always been a ball of energy, but even she has her limits.

She reaches the top and collapses once more. "Get up and give me two hundred sit-ups!" His demands never seem to end.

"That's ridiculous!" Tia barks back thinking her legs would fall off if she tried.

"You're right, three hundred sit-ups!" Chuck's bark is far worse as Tia reluctant begins. She is already sweating buckets and it's only been a couple hours. She understands the old adage of no pain, no gain. Though this seems a little extreme for even Chuck.

Quite some time passes as Tia struggles to do her exercise, or punishment. All the while she can smell the scent of Chuck preparing fish over an open flame. The enticing smell only really services to make Tia hungrier as she struggles to finish the last of her sit-ups. She finish and just as quickly collapses onto her back. Chuck gives her another bottle of ice cold water which she drinks as if it was the first thing she's drank in days.

"Alright, it's time for lunch. I'm not that cruel." He sits down beside her and gives her a few cooked fish. "I must say you do have a lot of determination. Most people quit by now." He lets out another boisterous bellow as he eats.

"What this was all a test then?" Tia complains between bites.

"Yes and no, I wanted to see if you'd give up after all my demanding and barking. Which you didn't so good job." He gives her a thumbs up and continues to eat. "Don't get me wrong, I fully intend to work you to and beyond your breaking point. That's just what a good teacher does. I see your untapped potential so I'm going to force it out of you." The idea sounds a bit painful, but Tia can at least respect his intentions.

"So what's next then?" She doesn't let this bring her down, because she at least knows she can take whatever it is he throws at her. It'll be hard and an uphill struggle, but she can take it. She knows it'll get easier in time anyway.

"That's the spirit. Next we're going to go for a run and after that a little sparring."

"Wait, sparring like fighting?" Tia seems to be a little concerned about actually fighting.

Chuck shakes his head, "Don't worry, I won't be fighting you. I use it as an endurance exercise. We'll have protective gear and you'll punch me while I block. I'd brace myself for the run though."

"Dare I ask why?" Tia is already cringing. She can anticipate sore legs.

"Well, we'll be running down beach." He calmly explains with a soft smiles.

"Well that's not too bad." Tia takes a sigh of relief.

"This is an island." That sigh of relief to come a bit too soon.

"We're running around the entire island aren't we?" Tia just sinks her head as Chuck jumps to his feet and starts jogging. Tia herself has recovered a bit of her energy, but still nowhere near one hundred percent.

Tia may not be too thrilled by her new, vigorous training routine, but if it will help her become a better trainer than she is willing to give it her all. No matter how long it takes.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a comment with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. This was really a turning point I feel with the series. Tia's identity as a trainer is now really fully developing into a psuedo-Battle Girl type pf trainer. Without the type restrictions of course. I created the concept behind the Adept with the thought of it's a very subtle type ability in mind. Empaths, Psychics, Aura Seers, and Adepts are not trainers with an inheritant superiority to them. Case and point, neither Tom nor Sabrina are powerful trainers because of their latent abilities. The idea behind the Adept is that their strength is their Pokemon's strength too. A symbiotic relationship. Everyone has that bond, but Adepts can channel it and control it more freely than a normal individual.<p> 


	56. Chapter 54: A New Leader Emerges

Chapter 54: A New Leader Emerges

After the excitement of the day before Tom is more than content with a little rest and relaxation. While he sat back and let Tia and Silver handle the hard part themselves. He didn't feel the need to hog the spotlight. Now without Tia around Tom finds himself free to do whatever he wants. Though, now that Tia is on Cianwood what will he do?

He'd gotten so use to travelling again that sticking in one spot for too long is already starting to bother him. He can patiently wait, but what will he occupy his time with? Visiting Jasmine is as good a plan as any since he at least wants to follow up with her on Amphy's condition.

He steps out into the city and is greeted by a gentle, morning breeze coming from the sea. The hint of sea air makes him think back to his time in Hoenn and his home he hadn't visited in quite a while. This nostalgic sensation is met with a familiar face from Tom's past. As he gazes out at the see he spots a tall man with spiked, yellow hair walking by as Tom is stepping out.

The man walks aloof with his hands in his jean pockets. "Volkner?" Tom looks perplexed when the man turns to him.

His expression is rather indifferent until he sees Tom. He gives a soft smile and gives him a lackadaisical wave. "Hey Tom, it's been a while." He lets the young trainer catch up before they continue their walk.

"No kidding, I wasn't expecting to see you of all people here." Tom honestly doesn't have a clue why Volkner would be Olivine City of all places. "So what brings you here?"

Volkner smirks and nods towards the lighthouse. "I like visiting Olivine City's Lighthouse. I heard there were issues with it not running so I came to check it out." Volkner doesn't portray emotions too much. He's definitely not the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve and also has an excellent poker face so it's hard to tell if he's bluffing.

Unfortunately for him, those traits are unless when in the presence of an Empath. "Really? You know, it's rare a gym leader can just leave his city on the drop of a hat. How would you have even known about the lighthouse in the first place? I'm pretty sure there was no emergency bulletin. Even if there was, why would it extend to Sinnoh?" Tom has him dead to rights and Volkner seems a bit nervous.

"Like I said, I like to admire the lighthouse. Besides, I doubt a league champion who never attends meetings unless it's convenient for him should really be talking." This shuts Tom up really quick, but he has a pretty good idea of why he's really visiting.

"Fair enough, let's _admire _the lighthouse together then." Tom snickers and follows alongside the stoic gym leader. "So how's the gym been?" It's hard keeping up a conversation with Volkner so it usually boils down to awkward small talk like this.

"Fine I guess. There hasn't been a decent trainer in months. Being a gym leader is so boring at times. I'll even go weeks without even getting a trainer to challenge me." Volkner's always been pretty vocal about his distain towards being a gym leader. Tom wonders why he hasn't just quit yet, but he sticks around for some reason.

The rest of the walk is filled with silence and tension in the air. Tom wanted to break the silence, but he knows any attempts to converse will end quicker than they start. After a brief walk, that felt like an eternity, they arrive at the lighthouse and step inside. Unlike the Vista Lighthouse in Sunyshore City this lighthouse isn't equip with an elevator. So the awkward silence persists all the way upstairs.

On the top floor Jasmine is happily petting her newly recovered Ampharos. She jumps up in excitement the second she spots Volkner's spiky, blond hair. "Volkner, you came!" She runs over to him with a giddy expression. She then notices Tom and proceeds to retreat back in embarrassment. "I mean, hello Volkner. It is nice seeing you again." Jasmine covers her face to hide her bright red cheeks.

Tom chuckles, "Knew it,"

Without a word Volkner walks up to her and gives her a lax, one-armed hug. "Nice to see you again." He speaks softly before stepping to her side and putting an arm over her shoulder. "Is Amphy alright?" He looks at her Pokémon who is happily nuzzling close to him. "I'll take that as a yes." He smiles warmly with a subtle smile.

"Yeah, the medicine you got worked wonders Tom." Jasmine walks with Volkner to the center of the lighthouse as they look out on the sea. "So what brings you here today?" She looks over her shoulder at Tom.

He couldn't help get a strong third wheel vibe. "Sorry if I'm interrupting, I was just finding things to occupy my time while I wait for Tia to get her badge from Chuck."

Jasmine shakes her head, "It's fine, we don't mind. Do we Volkner?" She asks with a sweet and innocent smile while he shrugs indifferently.

"Isn't there league business you could be doing?" Volkner doesn't seem to be pushing Tom to leave, but Tom couldn't think of anything the league needed his attention for.

"What do you mean? There's nothing going on right now." Tom is quick to dismiss this. Much like all of the other responsibilities he's entrusted with.

"What about the new gym leader?" Volkner points out which surprises Tom that, one, he knows about this. Two, Tom himself didn't.

"There's a new gym leader?" Tom immediately panics. "Why wasn't I informed?" He looks through his X-Transceiver and all the messages he never read and the calls he had left unanswered. "Whoops," he slumps his head.

Jasmine fills him in, "Pryce's granddaughter is now a gym leader in the Johto League."

Tom's head perks up, "Pryce retired? No way!"

Jasmine shakes her head, "No, no Pryce is still the Mahogany Town gym leader don't worry." She alleviates Tom's worry quickly.

"I guess I should meet her. I'm guessing Jasmine told you all about her already Volkner?" He can't think of any other way Volkner would know.

He shakes his head, "No, Candice told me. The new gym leader is her older sister."

Tom is further shocked, "Wait so Anna took over Goldenrod City's gym?" This answered one questioned, but raised a whole new series of questions.

"So you do know her." Jasmine is just as surprised.

"Yeah, I travelled with her for a while. It's only been like a couple weeks since we last saw each other. How did she become the gym leader so quickly? More importantly, what happened to Whitney?" For as long as Tom's known Whitney she always wanted to be Goldenrod's gym leader.

Jasmine groans, "I'm very disappointed in her behavior, but Whitney decided one day to upping quit. She didn't give any notice or warning. She just disappeared one day and left a note on the door saying she quit. Ironically, Anna was the one to find the note."

"I can't believe she did that." Tom pinches the bridge of his noses and sighs heavily. "Anna was recommended by Pryce and her sister I'm guessing."

She nods, "Also, she said you recommended her. Naturally, we were skeptical, but when you didn't answer your calls or messages it didn't help her case. So we turned to the next best person: Sabrina. She mentioned you telling her that Anna may be the best Normal type trainer you know. So the league was more than convinced to give her a shot." Jasmine gives a complete rundown of the situation. "She is currently being taught and trained how to be a proper leader so we have a proxy taking on trainers at the moment."

"Well, I guess I should check up on her then. As the league champion it is my job after all." Tom proudly boasts his position. Something he's not caught doing too often.

"That's a first." Even Volkner acknowledges the rarity of this event. "I'm actually interested in seeing how good she is firsthand myself. If she's anything like her sister than she'll definitely be a strong trainer." Volkner is confident in this, especially if Tom thinks so.

"I would love to join you two, but I am expecting a battle later. As well as one from Tom's friend Tia in the near future." Jasmine follows the two as they step out of the lighthouse. To all their surprise Silver stands outside the lighthouse about to enter.

"Jasmine, I would like to challenge you to a gym battle." Silver can't help feeling he's intruding. Regardless, he stands firm with his challenge.

Jasmine smiles warmly and happily accepts. "Let us meet at the gym and I'll give you your battle." She gives Volkner a peck on the cheer and walks off past Silver.

Silver stops for a second and looks at Tom. He's not sure what to say, but he knows something needs to be said. "Tom, when you see Tia next tell her… I'm sorry."

Tom nods, "You didn't want to hurt her I'm sure. Don't beat yourself up about it too much." Tom dispenses some sage advice and leaves it at that. Silver walks off and Tom leads Volkner to the Pokémon Center. "I'll grab an Abra and we can teleport to Goldenrod City. Then we'll be back in no time flat."

Tom grabs an Abra from his PC and calls it out. In an instant the Psychic Type teleports them to the identical Pokémon Center in Goldenrod City. This one isn't especially busy at the moment, but a couple trainers walk in to heal their Pokémon exchanging gossip.

"Man, that new gym leader is just as tough as Whitney was. So much for having an easier time." One of the kids holds an injured Pidgey in his arms as he hands it off to Nurse Joy.

"You're telling me, she said she only started taking on challengers yesterday and still needs to learn more too. Still, her Blissey is no joke."

"Yeah, that sounds like Anna to me." Tom laughs and heads out into the city. It may not have been that long since he'd last visited his old home, but it makes him feel that he is truly home once more.

He arrives at the gym that appears to be undergoing a bit of maintenance. Upon stepping inside Tom is pleased to see a lot of girly décor Whitney installed has been removed and is being replaced. The lack of people and Pokémon doing dance aerobics is also a welcomed change.

As with any gym the gym leader is entitled to design the layout of the gym however he or she desires. Tom is pleased to see that Anna is sticking more to the plain style true to nature of Normal Type Pokémon. They have power, but aren't really flashy like other types. The walls have a fresh coat of cream pastel paint and a more traditional gym layout with a large arena in the middle. Though a lot of the gym is still under renovation.

"Is she even here right now?" Volkner looks around and sees a whole lot of nothing.

"Hello?" Tom's voice echoes through the gym garnering no response. "Maybe she's back in the gym's office?" The two walk back and see Anna in an office chair at the desk, nose deep in paperwork and books.

Tom knocks on the side of the door frame and immediately captures Anna's attention. She looks up and notices her friend immediately. "Tom!" She leaps out of her seat and runs over to him. "What brings you here today?"

He chuckles, "You becoming a gym leader of course. You think I wouldn't come visit after hearing that news?" The two share a friendly hug and Tom proceeds to introduce Volkner. "This is Volkner he's the current gym leader in Sunyshore."

Volkner nods and smiles subtly. "Nice to meet up. I'm good friends with your sister. I can tell she's very excited for you."

Anna giggles, "Yeah Candice already called when she heard the news. My little sister is a ball of energy sometimes."

"So how's being a gym leader treating you?" Tom can only imagine how stressful jumping into this position could be for her.

"It's a lot of hard work and learning, but my grandpa, Pryce, has been helping me a lot. Your grandparents have also given me a lot of good advice too. I was happy being a breeder, but when Whitney just left I felt like this was fate's way of telling me to be a gym leader. I'll still be a breeder, but a full time gym leader as well."

"Ambitious, I like it." Volkner nods and approves of her resolve. "If you're free I'd like to have a battle with you." Volkner, much like Tom, is always itching for a good battle. Especially after the sour taste his last series of battles have left in his mouth.

Anna nods excitingly, "I'd love to. It's been a while since I've battled competitively so I have to get back into that mindset." She grabs her tried-and-true team and puts their Pokeballs on her belt.

"I knew this would happen so I have the perfect place for us to battle." Tom calls back out his Abra and teleports them to a remote area at the top of a mountain. Volkner and Anna both seem surprised by the sudden change in scenery.

"Tom what's going on here?" Anna is a little confused by Tom's split second decision.

"Simple, we're going to have a three way battle with our best Pokémon." He smirks and pull out a Pokeball.

"Well I'm not sure who I think is my best?" She thinks about this for a second, but Tom answers that question for her.

"Your _strongest_ Pokémon Anna." He speaks with heavy emphasis.

"You mean him?" This plan is seeming pretty dicey to her.

"Yes, your guardian. As for me," he tosses his Pokeball in the air and calls his massive serpentine dragon of a Pokémon. "Go Rayquaza!"

"A legendary battle huh?" Volkner laughs and gives the two of them a wild grin. "So I know what he's playing at. What's your legendary Pokémon Anna?"

She frowns slightly at the prospect of fighting another legendary Pokémon, but it gets her excited all the same. "My guardian, Regigigas." She calmly releases her titan Pokémon who stands proudly as Rayquaza stares it down.

"Then I guess there's no point in waiting. Go Heatran!" Volkner looks energetic as ever. "A three way battle with legendary Pokémon is just what I need to cure this boredom. Win or lose this match will be amazing!"

"Nice to see your battling spirit Volkner." Tom cracks his knuckles and watches his dragon looming overhead.

The three legendary Pokémon stare each other down. Rayquaza looks down on the two legends flanking him. Regigigas may lack a face to express emotion, but it still stands stoically and silently looking at Heatran and up towards Rayquaza. Heatran lets out a low growl as it gazes towards the sky and looking over at Regigigas. The three Pokemon all have respect for the other, but they know this is a battle and there is no way either would back down if it means proving their strength.

Tom smirks and dawns his mask. "Let's begin!" He shouts and points up to Rayquaza. "Rayquaza start with a Dragon Dance!" Tom's blood is pumping while Rayquaza buffs itself up with a loud, echoing roar.

"I don't have any set up moves so take a Lava Plume." Volkner's pulse is pounding but he maintains his cool demeanor. Heatran lets out a roar and unleashes a huge outburst of flaming rocks. Rayquaza ducks and weaves through the molten rocks, but Regigigas simply stands its ground and takes the hit.

"I'm not too worried about some hot rocks. Psych Up Regigigas." Anna herself is pretty confident in her Pokémon's defenses. Regigigas begins to beep and analyze Rayquaza and copies Rayquaza's increases in strength and speed.

"That was your courtesy round. Now I'm going to destroy you." Tom gets a twist grin under his mask as he lets himself loose on the opponents before him. "Extreme Speed on Regigigas!" He takes advantage of the legend's Slow Start ability.

Rayquaza charges forward and flies right towards Regigigas. The dragon rips through air and collides with the titan. A huge burst of energy releases and blows up a huge plume of smoke when the too clash. Anna smiles, "You're going to have to try a lot harder than that Tom." The dust settle sand reveals Regigigas holding back Rayquaza's attack with a vicious Ice Punch. His fist right against Rayquaza's head as an icy cold chill envelopes it in the process. In the blink of an eye Regigigas grabs Rayquaza by the head and flings towards the ground.

"Heat Wave!" Volkner jumps into action and takes advantage of the downed Rayquaza. A mass of heat washes over the two Pokémon and severely burns them. The damage doesn't persist like Volkner hopes.

"Regigigas use Zen Headbutt!" Regigigas lunges forward to Heatran who full anticipated a full on assault. Regigigas's attack is unable to connect as Heatran leaps back and the titan stumbles to the ground.

"Alright, Stone Ed-" Volkner is interrupted by a surprise attack.

"Dragon Pulse!" Tom makes sure he isn't forgotten as Rayquaza unleashes a huge burst of energy from his maw. The attack washes over Regigigas and nails Heatran. "Don't forget this isn't a one-on-one battle."

"Yeah, now I think you were saying something about Stone Edge?" Anna gets a mischievous smile on her face.

"Ah crap," Regigigas uses a Stone edge of its own. The rocks manifest around Heatran and lodge into it for massive damage. The rubble clears and then comes Heatran's retaliation. "Stone Edge!"

"Stone Edge!" Both the Pokémon match their attacks and neutralize their attacks, but not before taking a bit on damage as a result.

"Dragon Pulse!" Tom aims for Regigigas this time. To their surprise Regigigas jumps back with a sudden burst of speed.

"Hey Slow Start wore off." Anna chirps and narrows her gaze. "Giga Impact!" Regigigas jumps up and readies a punch right honed in on Rayquaza. The attack connects with Rayquaza's jaw and send him hurling to the ground. Crashing on Heatran for a nice bonus.

"Magma Storm!" Heatran's attack hits Rayquaza head on and gets Regigigas in the process of recovering from the last attack.

Tom himself can tell Rayquaza is getting quite fatigued as is the other legendary Pokemon, but he knows he has to act fast. "Rayquaza use Draco Meteor!" He points to the sky as several meteors manifest in the air and come careening towards the earth at mach speed.

"Heatran Stone Edge!" Volkner is quick to try and stop the assault from above.

Anna takes a deep breath, "Ice Punch!"

The two legendary Pokémon both poise themselves for the attack. Heatran pelts massive stones at the falling debris, but too little effect as the meteor collides with Heatran and finally knocks out Volkner's legendary Pokémon. Regigigas's attacks plays out a bit different. Regigigas stands firmly in places as a meteor flies right towards it. With a wind up and a might swing forward Regigigas's fist meets the meteor head on and solidifies it in ice. The massive titan takes the frozen meteor and hurls it at Rayquaza with all its strength.

"Holy-" Tom is too stunned to react as Rayquaza gets crushed under the weight of his own meteor. He looks in awe as his Pokémon faints. "I… lost?"

Anna jumps for joy as she runs over towards her triumphant legend. Regigigas sits down with a loud crash as it attempts to regain its strength from the intense battle. "Regigigas that was amazing! We won!" She jumps into the titan's lap and gives it a hug.

Tom takes off his mask and begins to exhale exhaustingly. "You did great too Rayquaza." Tom calls back his legendary Pokémon and walks over to Volkner. "Well she's definitely exceeded my expectation."

Volkner smiles, "Same here, I haven't felt this way in a battle in so long. She'll be a great gym leader." He is certainly impressed by her expert handling of Regigigas and ability to stay calm during such an intense and exhausting battle.

"That was quite a match you two. Especially you, Anna. I can't believe I lost." Even in defeat Tom still has his ego about him. He gives them both a friendly hand shake and calls out his Abra. "Well, it's getting late. We should probably be getting back."

Anna nods, "Yeah, I need to get back to the gym. By the way, where's Tia? I know she doesn't have a legendary Pokémon, but what is she up to?"

"She's on Cianwood getting her next badge from what I can imagine. She went on ahead the other day and I stayed behind in Olivine." Tom doesn't go into all the details for brevities sake. Plus, he didn't want to worry Anna with the whole Team Rocket situation that had recently unfolded.

"Alright, I hope she does visit sometime though." The three teleport back to Anna's gym and say their final goodbyes. She gives Tom a friendly hug good bye and shakes Volkner's hand. "It was great seeing you again Tom and it was a pleasure to meet you as well Volkner."

Volkner nods and gives her a small smile, "Likewise, next time I want a one-on-one battle with that Regigigas of yours."

Anna giggles, "Deal," she waves goodbye as the guys disappear

They return to Olivine in front of the now lit lighthouse. Volkner gives Tom a backhanded wave goodbye and heads inside.

Tom takes his leave and heads to the Pokémon Center. He walks up to Nurse Joy and hands her Rayquaza's Pokeball. "Excuse, has a girl named Tia booked a room here tonight?" he looks around and doesn't see her in the lobby.

Nurse Joy shakes her head, "We haven't had anyone by that name stop by today."

"Really?" Tom scratches his head, "Thanks anyway." He walks over to a PC and makes a call. He connects to Tia at the PC on Cianwood. "Hey, you're still in Cianwood?"

Tia nods nervously, "Yeah, I couldn't quite beat Chuck so I'm going to be doing some training and then I'll be taking him on again."

"How long will you be on the island?" Looks like Tom will have more time to himself.

"Another week it looks like." She doesn't go into much detail about her training, because she herself doesn't quite understand what she'll be doing either.

"Alright, I'll see you in a week I guess." He says goodbye to her and hangs up. "A whole week? What am I going to do?" As the words leave his mouth he quickly jumps up out of the seat and grabs his recovered Rayquaza. He calls out Abra one more time. "Teleport to Saffron City." In a flash Tom is standing outside of the Saffron City gym. The door is locked and a sign on the door saying closed.

He hits a button under the intercom. The speaker crackles as Sabrina's voice comes through. "The gym is closed, please come back in the morning." Her voice is tired and a little bothered. She was probably asleep.

Tom tries his best to disguise his voice. "Special Delivery." He announces as he tries not to laugh.

Sabrina lets out an audible sigh, "Fine, I'll be out there in a few minutes."

Tom waits patiently for Sabrina at the door. She opens the door and rubs her eyes. Her hair is a bit unkempt and she is wearing a purple robe. "Surprise." Tom smirks while she processes what's happening.

"Tom?" She immediately peps up and wraps her arms around him. She gives him a passionate kiss on the lips. "What are you doing here?"

"I've got a little free time. So I thought what better way to spend my free time than with you." He smiles and holds her tightly.

"That's so sweet, come on in. You can tell me everything tomorrow. The gym's been a bit busy and I need some sleep." Sabrina feels bad, but even now she feels a bit exhausted.

"Don't worry, for the next week you've got me all to yourself." He is more than happy to tell her this as he steps into the gym with Sabrina.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and series as a whole. And now for something completely different. Yeah, you all have no idea how long I've wanted another epic legendary battle. Cinnabar was nothing compared to this. For Tia's training on Cianwood I wanted to break away from Tia a little bit and show off what Tom was up to while she was away. Next week is back to Tia though. This goes down as the longest chapters yet too. It'll be surpassed soon as well. Also, I made a lot of jabs at Tom's complete lack of responsibility towards his position.<p> 


	57. Chapter 55: Test of Strength

Chapter 55: Test of Strength

It's been three days since Tia had begun her Adept training and already she is showing great improvements in her physical fortitude, stamina, and strength. Chuck's training is ruthless, but that hasn't dissuaded Tia any. On the contrary, it did what Chuck had intended from the beginning. It encouraged her and challenged her to become stronger and not to give up.

It's early in the morning and Tia is building her strength and stamina has she punches away at two foam pads Chuck is clutching. Her knuckles to her forearms are wrapped up in hemp cloth and her long, black hair is tied in a ponytail to keep it out of her face while she trained. Tia's even gone to the effort of getting more form fitting clothing. A deep blue sports bra and a matching pair of athletic shorts.

Even after three days Chuck's near endless yelling persists. "Hit me like you mean it!" His berating of her abilities are also endless. This goads her into trying harder though. Tia's punches have a lot of force behind them, but he wants to test her absolute limits. They had been sparring for the last hour easily and Tia is sweating buckets while Chuck has barely broken a sweat at all. "Come on, let's see if you can at least push me back!" Chuck's assumed a firm, wide stance which combined with his powerful legs makes him a nigh immovable object.

"I'm trying," Tia pants between each word.

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"No! You're not!"

"Yes! I am!" Tia shouts loudly and pivots her body into a powerful kick at one of the pads. The force behind the kick is enough for Chuck to lose his footing and stumble back a bit. Tia looks in shock. "I did it!" She jumps for joy and wipes several beads of sweat from her forehead.

Chuck bellows loudly, "That's what I like to see!" He walks over to the cooler and tosses her a bottle of water. Both Tia and Chuck down the bottles quickly. "Let's see what we should do next." Chuck thinks for a second and looks around the top of the mountain.

Tia does as well and notices a ladder leading down into the mountain. "Hey Chuck, what's down that ladder?"

"Not much, just a cave full of wild Pokémon. It's good for training your Pokémon, but for the most part I leave them alone." Chuck seems pretty calm about this and sees no reason to go down into the cave.

"That's a relief. I've got a bit of thing against caves." Tia tries not to think of her previous, bad experiences in caves.

"Really?" Chuck flashes a devilish smile. "Hey Tia, guess where we're training today."

"Ah crap!" Tia slumps her head and follows Chuck down the later into the dark cave.

The cave itself is rather large in size and feeds out into the other side of the island with a large mouth. The cave is barren with a few sinks and plateaus in its natural formation. A lot of it seems to have been carved out in places by Pokémon for easier access to higher levels. The cave itself is absolutely massive in size thanks to the already huge mountain it's crafted within.

Inside are the usual suspects; Zubat, Geodude, and even a couple Quagsire. Though what is a bit more surprising are a number of Pokémon Tia isn't quite as familiar with. Namely a group of Larvitar and Pupitar being watched over by a Tyranitar.

"Whoa, I've never seen those Pokémon in person before." Tia begins to step closer towards the moderate sized group of Pokémon.

Chuck quickly extends out his arm to stop her. "Careful, that is a tribe in a way. They are led by that Tyranitar and they are very territorial. As it stands right now those two Larvitar are about to engage in a fierce battle for superiority."

As Chuck speaks as a small circle is formed by the Larvitar and Pupitar with the leader Tyranitar watching as two Larvitar stand in the middle. The first Larvitar shouts confidently while the other seems a bit more timid. Regardless, the more timid of the two runs forward with its eyes fixated on its opponent. With a brutal Bite it makes the first move. The other Larvitar is able to dodge with ease and counters with a mighty Thrash. The attack knocks the timid Larvitar to the ground and leaves it at the mercy of its clearly more powerful foe. The Thrash concludes and the Larvitar picks itself off the ground and attempts to Bite its foe once more. The attack connects, but to with very little results. The stronger of the two knocks it away and with a single Chip Away takes down the poor, outmatched Larvitar.

The Larvitar gets up and is met with distain and disappointed glances. The leader just shakes its head and walks away with the rest of its tribe deeper into the cave. The poor Larvitar slumps its head down and walks away down the slopes in the cave. It continues slowly walking, starting at the ground, until it unintentionally happens upon Tia.

It slowly looks up at her as she stares back down at it. "Do you want to get stronger?" She stoically asks the down and out Larvitar. It stares at her for a second and slowly nods its head. "Then come with me. We'll train together." She breaks her stoic expression with a small, confident smile.

Tia leads Larvitar out of the cave and onto the beach. Tia first off kneels down and pulls out a potion. "We need to heal you first." She sprays the potion on Larvitar and hands it a berry so it will come to trust her. The Larvitar cautiously takes the berry from Tia's hand and scarfs it down hastily. Tia giggles, "You're a hungry, little guy aren't you?" She slowly pats Larvitar on top of the head and stands back up.

Tia pulls out a Pokeball and calls out her Typhlosion. "We'll start with some warm ups. Go ahead and attack Typhlosion with all you've got." The plan is simple enough. Tia first wants to see how strong the Larvitar is and help from there. She knows that her Typhlosion can handle a few swings from Larvitar anyway.

Larvitar nods and spring into action. He jumps up and bites at Typhlosion's arm. Typhlosion himself treats this as if it were nothing more than a bug bite and waits for Larvitar to let go. Next Larvitar shouts and kicks up a Sandstorm. Tia nods, a bit more impressed by the set up than Larvitar's overall attacking. Next he continues his offensive by running forward with a quick Chip Away. Again, the damage is minimal, but it helps Tia gauge Larvitar's strength.

"Oh boy do we have a long way to go." Tia walks up to Larvitar and stares him straight in the eyes. "We're going to make you stronger yet. So we're going to start with the basics." Tia stretches her legs. "Let's start with speed and stamina. So we're going for a run along the beach." Tia takes off with Larvitar following behind. Typhlosion himself even joins in on the fun.

For the rest of the day Tia and her team helped train Larvitar so that he may grow stronger and prove himself worthy of tribe's approval. They did a long series of runs around the island, pushing boulders, and practicing moves. Larvitar learned a few moves of his own, including Thrash, the very same technic that thwarted him before. At the end of the day Tia invited Larvitar to the Pokémon Center to rest up, but the determined Pokémon decided to sleep out in the elements.

Larvitar didn't care if the sea breeze made it cold at night. He is determined to become stronger and prove that he is worthy of the tribe's praise. To Larvitar's surprise Tia comes out a bit later while he tried to sleep. She lays down a sleeping bag beside Larvitar and starts speaking to the Pokémon. "I'm sure you'll become strong enough. Even stronger I'm sure. You have the will of a fighter." She smiles and looks to the stars. "I know a thing or two about being weak or in the shadow of others. When I was growing up I was so amazed by how strong my dad was. I never thought I'd be as good as him. Even my friend Gary Oak excelled. So I was always too afraid to try. Until one day I realized I should at least try. On my journey I met incredibly powerful trainers that I stride to beat." She thinks about Tom for a fleeting second. "I also met incredibly powerful trainers that I was able to beat. It takes time and determination to become truly strong. It's about never giving up and always striding to become better than you once were." Tia's speech really speaks to Larvitar as he lies silently in the sand and gently lets the sound of the waves lull him to sleep.

Larvitar wakes up bright and early in the morning to the sight of Tia sitting beside him with her legs crossed and head sunk down. She is deep in her morning meditation that Chuck taught her and Larvitar decides to emulate her actions. The intended purpose may be lost on Larvitar, but he still takes the time to calm himself and clear his mind.

Tia finishes her meditations and spots Larvitar sitting beside her. She giggles as she watches the small Pokémon mimicking her actions. Larvitar notices her watching and quickly stops and acts like nothing happened. She pats him on the head and gets up. "Alright, let's get started. We have a bit more training to do and then we'll head to the cave this evening." Tia is confident that her training will help Larvitar and she is willing to bet that come this evening he will be ready.

Tia's training is similar to yesterday as she runs alongside Larvitar and has her Pokémon spar with him. She has started to take a page from Chuck's book on how intense to be when training the Pokémon. She is pushing him to his limits so he will become stronger and go above and beyond what he first thought possible.

The sun slowly begins to sink on the ocean as Tia and Larvitar beginning heading into the cave. The two notices the small tribe on a rocky platform above with a slope leading up. Larvitar looks nervously at Tia. Tia smiles and nudges him forward. Larvitar readies himself and climbs the slope.

At the top the tribe is gathered around Tyranitar and the Larvitar that had defeated him prior stands proudly beside Tyranitar. As he approaches the alpha Larvitar immediately points and calls him out. He stands his ground though and boldly shouts at his opponent. Tia may not be able to understand Pokémon the way Tom can, but she knows that the unmistakable declaration for a battle. A whole tribe seems taken aback by this and the younger Larvitar begin to laugh. The alpha just shakes its head and turns away.

The leader seems to have a different thought in mind. Like a couple of the Pupitar they too seem to notice the change in the once frail Larvitar. Tyranitar stares down both Larvitar and lets out a calm growl. The alpha's eyes dart towards Tyranitar like it must be crazy. Regardless, the match has been set and the two will now battle once more.

The two gather in a circle once more and prepare to battle. The alpha doesn't seem too worried, but the glint in Larvitar's eyes definitely caught the attention of Tyranitar. The match begins with the alpha offering the first attack. A move it would soon regret. Larvitar charges forward with greater speed than before and uses Bite to get a hold on its arm. He flings the alpha to everyone's surprise and stands over him awaiting his opponents move. This surprising burst of strength stuns it, but never the less the Larvitar stands poised for more. It immediately goes for the Thrash and knocks away its opponent. This attack is not nearly as effective as before though. Larvitar than retaliates with a powerful Thrash of his own. The two exchange several powerful blows as their energy slowly depletes. The alpha knows he's on the ropes and decides to take the battle a step further. With a roar a rupture occurs in the cave walls and rocks begin to come crashing down with the Rock Slide attack. Judging by the tribe's reaction and frantic fleeing Tia can assume this was not an honorable move. Still Larvitar is taking the brunt of the attack. Tia closes her eyes and tries to reach out to the Larvitar she spent so much time training with. Larvitar slowly gets buried in the rocks, but a sudden surge of power over comes him and he uses this power to break out of the rocks. Once he emerges he looks towards the alpha and charges forward with one last, powerful Thrash. The hit connects with the back of its head and knocks it face down. Larvitar stands triumphantly over the former alpha as he looks down on his fallen opponent.

All the Larvitar and Pupitar begin to cheer and crowd around Larvitar as the leader stoically walks up. Tyranitar nods approvingly and growls at the former alpha for its inexcusable behavior. Tyranitar then turns back to Larvitar and starts talking to him.

Tia can tell that her job is done. Larvitar proved his strength and will become the new alpha. She learned a lot from this experience and she witnessed her first glimpse of her true Adept ability. She silently wishes Larvitar the best and heads out of the cave.

Larvitar watches her walk out and begins to think about everything that just happened. He knows that it was Tia's training and her encouragement that helped him win, but he still had his tribe. He looks to Tyranitar who was fully aware of Tia's presence this entire time and nods approvingly. Larvitar smiles and runs off to the rest of the tribe's confusion. He runs out on to the beach and shouts out to Tia who is walking back to the center.

She turns to Larvitar and gives him a surprised look. "Larvitar, what are you doing here?" Larvitar begins talking to her with a series of growls and roars. "I appreciate it, but you don't have to thank me." She smiles and kneels down to pat him on the head. "You proved how strong you are on your own." Larvitar shakes his head and points at her. "Wait. Do you want to join me?" Larvitar looks her dead in the eyes and shakes his head yes. Tia smiles and pulls out a Pokeball. "If so then I would love to have you on my team." She hold the Pokeball in the palm of her hand. Larvitar tabs on the button and calls itself into the Pokeball.

The ball shakes once, twice, three times, and locks with a ping sound. Tia smiles and calls out Larvitar. "Welcome to the team Larvitar." She tosses the rest of her Pokeballs out so she can admire her now full team of six Pokémon.

Typhlosion, Heracross, Ampharos, Togepi, Skarmory, and now Larvitar. "Get ready everyone, because we're going straight to the top!" She points out at the horizon on the ocean as the sunsets with a fiery determination and high spirits.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please free to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter and series as a whole. So I wanted to change it up a bit with this latest chapter and I'm overall happy with it. Tia helps Larvitar and earns a trusted team member as a result. I really wanted her to have a Tyranitar as her final team member, but that would be kind of tough since they were only on Mt. Silver in the GSC and the Safari Zone in HGSS. So I nixed the Safari Zone and put them in the cave that lead to Route 47.<p> 


	58. Chapter 56: Iron Will

Chapter 56: Iron Will

It's dawn and Tia's week of intense training has finally come to an end. She sits in her room meditating to help clear her mind. She is ready to face Chuck with her new found abilities and she is most of all ready to win her fifth gym badge. All of her Adept training has led to this moment and she's ready to prove herself.

Tia heads out of the Pokémon center and straight for the mountain they had first battled upon. The sun is barely risen above the water as glimmers of light shine on Tia and the crystal clear waters. She runs up to starts looks up and smiles widely with a fiery light in her eyes. She charges forward and runs up the stairs with exuberant speeds. She clears the stairs in a fraction of the time she first approached it. She doesn't even so much as break a sweat.

Chuck sits atop the mountain with his legs crossed and head lowered. He sits calmly facing away from the stairs. He takes a deep breath and exhales serenely. "We train to grow stronger, we train to empower our Pokémon, and we train to strength our bonds with our Pokémon. We are Adept." Chuck recites his mantra aloud and slowly rises to his feet. He turns to Tia. "Well my student, it's time we have a true battle to test your skills." He raises a Pokeball and out stretches his arm towards Tia.

Tia nods silently and does the same. "I will win." She calls out her first Pokémon. Her Skarmory whom looks stronger and more resolute than before. She looks to her Skarmory who looks back at her. His cold, steel eyes almost seem to speak to her. "Remember our strategy and Hitmonchan will go down in no time." She balls her hand into a fist with a lot more confidence.

Chuck's laugh booms. "No time you say? You underestimate me and this battle will turn out the same as last time. Also, it's a shame that I won't see your newest teammate fight." He calls out his Hitmonchan who is also in a strong, fighting form.

Tia chuckles under her breath, "I'm all for overcoming weakness, but this is a battle where I have to fight with all I've got and I'll need all the advantages I can get. So trust me, I'm not underestimating you."

Chuck smile and looks very pleased with her answer. "Then let's begin! Hitmonchan Fire Punch!" Hitmonchan charges forward with a blazing fist. Chuck is not about to give up the initiative against Tia. He still has his confidence, but he knows now that Tia could very well win if he's not careful.

Tia watches Hitmonchan's approach and carefully determines the speed her opponent is approaching. Down to the second Tia orders Skarmory to fly straight up into the air. On her cue Skarmory shoots up like a bullet. The air whips around Skarmory who flies with incredible speed and hovers in the air for a second. "Air Cutter!" Skarmory's wings glow and cut through the air with a sharp slash. The blades of air come hurls towards the ground with a loud whirling as they rip through the sky.

Hitmonchan is right in the area of the strike. "Hitmonchan jump through the attack and give that Skarmory a Thunder Punch." Hitmonchan crouches down and gives a mighty leap up and flies through the air towards Skarmory. "The same old tricks won't work on me!" Chuck adamantly points to the sky.

Tia smirks, "I know, Autotomize!" Skarmory's whole body glows like he is rapidly heating up and flies up at close to twice his original speed. "Air Slash!" Skarmory's glow brighter than before the attack pierces the air and cuts down on Hitmonchan. The hit connects and sends the Fighting type colliding with the earth below. "Steel Wing!" Skarmory flies to the ground like a missile ripping through the air.

"Mach Punch!" Amongst the dust and rubble flying around Hitmonchan stands and braces himself for the strike. Skarmory's wings collide with Hitmonchan's fist and create a huge burst of energy. "Fire Punch!"

"Steel Wing!" The two Pokémon are locked in an intense battle that is destroying the terrain around them. Skarmory's wings tear into Hitmonchan while Hitmonchan's burning fists continue to knock Tia's Skarmory about. "Air Slash!" A point blank attack strikes Hitmonchan as another Fire Punch grazes Skarmory's sharp, steel wings.

"Hitmonchan Thunder Punch we need to paralyze Skarmory!"

"Keep up the Air Slash Skarmory we're faster!" Both Pokémon give their all as the battle rages on. Skarmory's attack manages to hit Chuck's Pokémon's fist. As the Thunder Punch is about to strike Hitmonchan stammers and hesitates. "Yes, we got the flinch! Finish this with an Air Slash to Hitmonchan's face!" Tia's Pokémon does just that as Skarmory's mighty wing pierces the air with a brilliant light and nails Hitmonchan who crashes to the ground.

Chuck wipes beads of sweat from his brow. "Very impressive Tia. You've improved a lot since we last battled. I'm glad all the training's paid off." His smiles turns much more elated as he calls out Hitmonlee.

"Skarmory, it's time for a rest, you deserve it. You've done enough for now." She reaches for her next Pokémon and carefully looks towards Hitmonlee. She doesn't want to risk Skarmory yet, so she has to weight her options carefully. She calls out her go to Pokémon. "Go Typhlosion! We will win this!" She closes her eyes and breathes deeply.

"Hitmonlee start with a Meditate." Tia expects this much so it buys her a couple second to devise the best strategy. This time is fleeting as Hitmonlee rushes Typhlosion. "Brick Break Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee jumps forward with an out stretched leg which lunges at Typhlosion.

"Grab Hitmonlee's leg!" Typhlosion does that and holds Chuck's Pokémon in place. "You know all this special training really paid off nicely, plus we got our hands on a nice TM in the process. The lady working at the Pharmacy was very grateful. Let me show you want we got. Flamethrower!" A technic that Typhlosion does not get for quite a while, but Tia was able to teach it to her Typhlosion way ahead of time.

Typhlosion roars and shoots out a massive amount of fire from his maw which consumes Hitmonlee in flames. Hitmonlee breaks free of Typhlosion's clutches and recovers from the intense attack. "A truly masterful attack. I applaud the strategy. It's a shame it won't work again." Chuck grins and orders another vicious attack. "High Jump Kick!"

"Risky attack, Chuck." Tia smiles, "Duck under the attack Typhlosion!" Typhlosion runs forward and dives under Hitmonlee's foot.

Chuck gives Tia a similar smile, "Did you really think I wouldn't plan for that. Hitmonlee you know what to do." As Hitmonlee flies through the air he twists his body and crashes his leg down on Typhlosion's head. Tia is taken aback, but she continues without being to shaken by the suddenly maneuver. Typhlosion grabs Hitmonlee by the leg and throws him to the ground.

"Flamethrower!" Tia shouts vigorously. Typhlosion stomps on Hitmonlee's chest and unleashes a powerful burst of fire. Hitmonlee surprises them all when he grabs Typhlosion by the foot and tips him back and knocks him off his footing. The Flamethrower fires up into the air and causes Typhlosion to fall on his back.

"Jump Kick!" Hitmonlee jumps into the air and brings his foot down on Typhlosion with a powerful collision. The ground cracks and breaks underneath them as Typhlosion gets lodge into the rocks.

"Lava Plume!" Tia shouts out in the heat of the moment. The ground heats up around Typhlosion and turns molten. With a loud roar Typhlosion sprays the lava all around the battlefield. Hitmonlee has very little options to stop this and gets hit by the incoming splash of lava. Typhlosion gets up and runs forward and locks into combat with Hitmonlee. Their hands collide and push back and forth on one another. Typhlosion blasts another Flamethrower and Hitmonlee gives a vicious Brick Break. Never once do the two Pokémon release their firm hold on the other's fist.

"Hitmonlee getting him!" Chuck yells as his body begins to sweat profusely.

Tia's also feeling the heat as she watches the intense hand-to-hand dual. Hitmonlee begins to push back on Typhlosion. Her Pokemon is slowly losing his footing, but Tia isn't about to let that be the end of this battle.

She breathes heavily and shouts at the top of her lungs, "Typhlosion toss Hitmonlee into the air!" Her command has more behind it than she thought possible. A sudden surge of power comes over Typhlosion and with a mighty cry Typhlosion slowly lifts Hitmonlee. With a firm hold on Chuck's Pokémon Typhlosion hurls Hitmonlee into a pool of the lava that consumes the battlefield. The intense heat scolds and burns Hitmonlee who quickly dives out of the lava. Hitmonlee is definitely on his last leg.

"Hitmonlee, this is the end. Finish off Typhlosion with High Jump Kick!" Hitmonlee runs forward and leaps towards Typhlosion.

"Flame Charge!" Typhlosion engulfs himself in flames and charges at Hitmonlee. The two Pokemon collide in a mighty head on assault and rupture the ground around them.

Both trainers let out loud roars as their Pokémon lock in one last epic attack. "Finish it!" Tia and Chuck shout simultaneously. Their voices are raspy and their breath ragged. Their true Adept abilities are in full force. This is a true battle of strength, will, and attrition.

The dust settles and amongst the rubble stands Typhlosion with a foot over the knocked out Hitmonlee. Tia is triumphant and she couldn't be happier. She jumps for joy and runs to her Typhlosion. "We did it!" She wraps her arms around her Pokemon and calls him back to his Pokeball. Chuck smiles widely and happily produces the Storm Badge.

"You did well my student. You've learned well and have become a true Adept. I felt your intensity in that battle as if both our bodies were surround in the very same flames your Typhlosion was. Every attack counted and in the end you were able to overpower my team."

Tia happily accepts the gym badge and places it in her gym badge case. "That only leaves three more."

"I suppose this means you'll be flying back to Olivine City now?" Chuck is happy to see Tia has come so far, but he can't deny that he'll miss having a student under his wing. Especially a student like Tia.

Tia pauses for a second and makes a quick call on her X-Transceiver. On screen Tom pops up. "Hey Tia. How's it going? Did you get your badge yet?"

"Yeah," she shows him the Storm badge in all its shining glory. "Though I've been thinking a bit. I decided I'm going to spend another week training on Cianwood. Then I'll return to take on Jasmine in Olivine." She clenches her fist and gives him a thumbs up.

"Alright, sounds like a plan." Tom is more than happy with this choice.

She notices the background and questions where Tom is. "What have you been up to while I've been gone?"

He smiles pleasantly, "I decided to head back to Saffron and spend some time with Sabrina. Unfortunately, I've learned if I stay in one place too long the league catches wind so I'm stuck doing paper work that I've been managing to avoid so far." He struggles, "I guess this is my job after all. See you in a week." He waves and hangs up.

"So another week you say?" Chuck looks at her amused.

"Yeah, I think I could stand to train a bit more. I going to grab lunch and go out for a run afterwards. Maybe swim laps in the ocean while I'm at it." She winks and runs down the steps with Chuck running beside her. "Hope you can keep up master."

Chuck bellows with a hearty laugh, "I'm going to miss having you as a student when you leave Tia." The two run off back to Chuck's gym with high spirits and empty stomachs.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. This was certainly an exciting chapter. I really wanted to draw attention to just how much of a toll this battle was having on both Tia and Chuck. Showing they are fighting with more than just their Pokemon. Next week's chapter will actually step away from Tia once more as we focus on a Silver centered chapter. So I hope you all look forward to that.<p> 


	59. Chapter 57: Silver's Story

Chapter 57: Silver's Story

After about a week of intense training and traveling with his Pokémon, Silver has finally arrived at his destination. Mahogany Town, a quaint borough nestled between the mountains of Johto. Known as the home of the ninjas, but ninjas have not been seen in Johto for quite some time. To the north sits the Lake of Rage and the east, Blackthorn City.

Silver is ready for his seventh badge, but feels a bit apprehensive. As if something was not quite right with the town. On the surface everyone seems happy and welcoming, but Silver notices something a bit off about the mood in the town. It could all be just his own paranoia and innate distrust of others, but something didn't gel with him.

Never the less he heads for the Pokémon Center to heal up his Pokémon and resume their training. He was more than prepared to stand down Pryce and his Ice Type Pokémon, but still Silver found himself training constantly to get stronger. As if chasing an invisible foe, or very tangible ones.

He steps back out into the woods and calls out his fully assembled Team. Feraligatr, Weavile, Scizor, Honchkrow, and Ursaring. Each of his Pokémon stand strong and proud. Raised with ferocity, but also care. Silver at one time would have deemed Pokémon as nothing more than tools or means to an end, but he's since started to see a different point of view. His Weavile has especially noticed this change in his trainer.

Of all of Silver's Pokémon Weavile has been with him the longest. Raised from a baby Sneasel, Weavile has been with Silver since he was still with his parents as a happier child. He was also there for the more trying times in Silver's life where they were forced onto the streets and had to steal to survive. Weavile did all he could to be strong for Silver and once the two started battling throughout Johto he made sure not to disappoint.

Silver stands firmly and points at a sturdy tree. "Ursaring ram into the tree with all your strength!" Ursaring nods and charges the tree. With a mighty hit the tree shakes as leaves fall loose. "Now Weavile, Scizor slash at those leaves. Night Slash! Slash!" Weavile nods and closes his eyes. He concentrates and immediately strikes the small leaves as they waft through the air. Weavile jumps up and slashes violently and hops from tree to tree while cutting.

Scizor takes a far more aggressive and agile approach by flying through the air with a flurry of slashes. In the end the two of them perfectly cut through dozens of leaves. Silver looks pleased and nods to both of his Pokémon. "Very good, now Ursaring gather the bundle of leaves. You too Honchkrow." The Pokémon both grab a large pile of torn leaves. "Honchkrow take flight and start dropping them when I say. Ursaring toss them on my command." Both get in position as Silver gives the order. "Release!" The leaves come slowly wafting through the air. "Icy Wind Weavile! Razor Wind Scizor!" Both Pokémon happily obey Silver's orders. Scizor being the first to act runs into the cluster of leaves and surrounds himself in a veil of Razor Wind. The blast of razor sharp air blades dices the leaves further until mere mulch is practically all that remains.

Weavile focuses on the leaves before him and opens him mouth to unleash a wide, chilling breath that freezes all the leaves it comes into contact with. Weavile smiles with a sharp grin and glint in his eye. Scizor has always been very fast and aggressive, favoring running head first into battle. He was also very hard to please, but Weavile earned his respect. With a subtle nod Scizor approves and looks back to Silver.

Silver is equally impressed and smiles triumphantly, but behind that smile Weavile sees something different. Something only Weavile notices. The same kind of distant gaze he's seen before. A gaze that meant his trainer was thinking about her.

Weavile did not get many chances to see Tia battle or communicate with her. Other than the Bug Contest there has been little interaction between him and her. Though Weavile knows that Silver has definitely developed strong feels towards her.

In Weavile's experiences he's seen Tia to be loud, impulse, overly emotional, and generally very sweet. Especially sweet to Silver. When the two fled the horde of Beedrill he pretend not to notice the two exchanging a kiss.

It warmed Weavile's heart to see that Silver may finally be opening up to someone. Still his trainer tries to deny his feels for the girl. Weavile wishes he could just tell Silver, 'she likes you and like her. Don't be afraid for Arceus sake!' Alas, Weavile knows full well that Pokemon and humans cannot quite communicate that way. Maybe he'd have better luck speaking through the human girl's Empath friend? He seems to understand what's going on at the very least. Also, from what Feraligatr had told him the trainer's Flygon is fairly terrifying. Which means a lot coming from Feraligatr.

Weavile wishes he could have gotten a better view, but his view was limited from within the Pokémon. This is another thing that irked Weavile. Did their trainers not realize Pokémon can hear perfectly well and see outside of the Pokeball? Silver never seemed to demonstrate if her knew or not, but some seem to act like their Pokémon cannot hear them. In all reality, other than sleeping there isn't too much to do inside of a Pokeball.

Weavile half listens to Silver as he addresses the rest of the group and looks around the woods. It's a peaceful day, warm with a gentle breeze. It was days like these that put Silver at eases he's noticed. Though with a big battle ahead of them the mood is a bit different. Still, Weavile leans against a tree feeling confident that he's pretty well prepared to fight. If he gets called out at all. Silver has gone on about how their next opponent is a powerful Ice Type Trainer, so Weavile might just be benched for this match.

Silver looks back at his Weavile who is passively listening as he leans against a shady tree. "Feraligatr and Scizor will be the biggest contenders this battle. Scizor, your resistance to Ice will help give us a good advantage and longevity. Feraligatr, I'll want you primed for a battle with Pryce's Piloswine. I know that thing will be a huge threat since it's considered Pryce's signature Pokémon." He looks at the rest of the team. "Ursaring, I want you to stay sharp in case plans go south and I need a back up to call upon. Weavile, you too, I doubt I'll need you, but be prepared never the less. Honchkrow, I'm afraid you'll be too vulnerable so I'll keep you off the battlefield the best I can."

Weavile nods and looks at the rest of the team. "So if you guys blow it then I come in and clean it all up." Weavile smirks as he communicates to the other Pokémon.

Scizor is the first to speak up, "Very funny, you're lucky you get to sit back at relax while we earn the badge." His comment naturally has a very sharp edge to it. The two were not the best of friends, but they respected one another.

"I feel so useless this fight." Honchkrow sulks as she sits atop her tree.

"Now don't say that," Ursaring is the first to come to her defense. "You're just as important as the rest of us. You handled yourself very well against that Poliwrath gym leader Chuck used." Ursaring is a very gentle giant, often jokingly referred to as a big Teddiursa.

Feraligatr nods to all this and speaks up in a loud voice, "Let us all do our best so we can best aid Silver, that is all." Since evolving Feraligatr has become a Pokémon of precious, few words. Weavile didn't mind, he found it refreshing to have a more level headed member of the team.

"Alright everyone, let's head for the gym." Silver one by one calls back all his Pokémon. When he's about to call back Weavile he's interrupted by the sound of rustling in the bushes. "Who's there?" Weavile immediately takes the defensive with his razor sharp claws poised to strike at a moment's notice.

A soft laugh is heard amongst the brush. "Don't worry, I come in peace." An elderly man with a cane and coat on approaches. "I'd overheard you and came to see who my next opponent would be."

Silver notices instantly who the old man was, "So you're Pryce? Well, I'm here to challenge you and earn your gym badge like I did with the six gym leaders before you." Weavile stands proudly alongside Silver.

Pryce smiles, "Wonderful, I do love trainers with strong fighting spirits. Well, I will be more than happy to accept your challenge if you'll just follow me back to the gym."

Silver follows behind with Weavile in tow. "By the way, has a trainer named Tia been through here lately?"

There he goes again with that Tia girl. Weavile is even beginning to question if Silver's just in love with this girl. He certainly devotes enough of his thinking and drive to win to her. He claims they're rivals, yet they've hardly even battled once. No matter how many times he promises.

Pryce ponders for a second. "No, I can't say she has. Is she a friend of yours?"

"You could say that." Silver's reluctant to say much more than that.

Weavile thinks aloud to himself, "_I'm sure he'd like to spend some time with her in a daycare._" Weavile snickers which catches Silver's attention.

He doesn't know what Weavile said, but he has a feeling it was some manner of smart mouthed remark. "Anyway, do you know if she's coming her from Olivine anytime soon?"

"I'm afraid I don't. We leaders in Johto tend not to gossip about travelling trainers. It keeps things fresh and exciting. Unlike all the gossiping hens in Kanto." Pryce chuckles and continues walking at a brisk pace with Silver. "This Tia girl must be important to you to be so concerned with her." Pryce sees it all over Silver's face.

His face turns red as his hair, "She's my rival. Nothing more."

Weavile laughs again which draws a glare from Silver who threatens him by holding up his Pokeball to call him back. Weavile quickly pipes up. He can hear just fine in the ball, but Weavile much prefers walking.

"Your Pokémon seems to disagree. Pokémon understand their trainer's emotions better than most they say. I personally believe this one-hundred percent." Pryce has been around for quite a while so as much as Silver may deny it he still knows better. "I remember when I was your age. Running around thinking I was unstoppable and unbeatable." He chuckles and gives a nostalgic grin. "Tell me Silver, why are you a Pokémon Trainer?"

Silver furrows his brow not really caring for Pryce's stories from his youth. "I'm a trainer so I can beat Team Rocket." To no real surprise beating Team Rocket is the first thing on Silver's mind.

A slight frown crosses Pryce's face. "I see, Tell me; what will you do after that? Surely they won't be around forever." He knows that Team Rocket is on its last leg from what he understands.

"I'll continue fighting and getting stronger." Silver definitely seems resolute in this goal at least, but Pryce isn't fully convinced.

"Yes, but why?" There is the heart of the question.

Even Weavile had to admit that Silver's goals were indecisive at best. He will follow Silver to the ends of the Earth, but Weavile can't help feel his trainer doesn't quite seem to have a true goal in mind.

"I want to stronger so I can prove myself. So I can say I'm the best." Silver grits his teeth feeling that Pryce won't accept that as a satisfactory answer.

"So you want to be the best for no other reason than to be the best?" Pryce shakes his head. "My boy, I suggest you reevaluate your goals in life. No one becomes the best simply because they just want to be."

"I'm doing it to prove myself." Silver stomps his foot angrily.

"To who?" There was the million dollar question right there. Silver pauses when Pryce asks. He sighs, "That's what I figured. Are you by chance familiar with the current world champion? A young man by the name of Tom. When I asked him the same question he told me this. 'I want to be the best for myself, my friends, family, loved ones, but most of all my Pokémon.' He never gave up his ambitious goals. He knew he was destined for greatness, because he refused to believe anything else." Pryce's insight definitely put Tom in a new light for Silver.

Silver finally bites the bullet. "I want to be strong so I can prove to my dad that he doesn't need Team Rocket to be strong. Anyone can be strong if they believe in themselves. I learned that from her." Silver confesses the truth and a bit more.

"I see, your father is a member of Team Rocket?" This does concern Pryce a bit.

"Yes, he's their leader: Giovanni." Silver doesn't feel the need to hide the truth any further. "He was beaten once by Tia. Now I want to finish the job."

"You really care for this girl don't you?" Pryce gives Silver a sly grin. Silver just timidly nods. "It's important to keep the one's we care about close to us. I remember when I first met my wife. She was a beautiful, young woman and I was a nervous, young fool." He laughs, "Still somehow I made her fall in love with me. Losing her was still the hardest thing I'd ever had to deal with. Still I had my children and grandchildren with me." Even now Pryce can't help his eyes from getting a little misty thinking about it. "What I'm saying is that strength is important, so is the desire to become stronger, but it's meaningless if you aren't getting stronger for others as well as your own sake."

Silver nods, "That makes a lot of sense." Silver looks to Weavile, his first and most loyal Pokémon. He knows Weavile has done nothing but get stronger for Silver's sake. All of Silver's Pokémon have. Silver never really thought about the fact he's also growing stronger with them as well as for them.

Weavile smiles and raises a claw proudly to show how much stronger he's become for Silver. Despite all the adversities and trials they had to overcome they were a team and friends. Weavile admired Silver and wanted nothing more than to help him and be stronger for him. That was his resolve and it made him happy to see his trainer finding his own motivations.

The three finally reach the gym in the heart of the town, "Well here we are. I hope you're ready to show me your best." Pryce smiles with a much more determined gleam in his eyes. As if he's not just a kind, old man, but a powerful adversary.

Silver nods, "I was confident that I was going to win before, but now I know I will. Because my Pokémon and I are strong. We will win, because we refuse anything else!"

Pryce laughs energetically, "Perfect, but I must warn you. I'm not going to hold back for even a second." A fire lights in both their eyes as they enter the gym for their climatic battle. Weavile smile the whole time knowing that his trainer is destined for great things, even if he doesn't know what they are yet.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review ith your thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. So this chapter definitely took a different approach. At first I wanted this to just be a Silver focused chapter, but this was the first time I'd experimented with writing from the Pokemon's perspective, which will be explored in more detail in the future. Mostly when Hoenn comes around. All and all I fee lthis was a very unique chapter and i hope you all enjoyed it. Please, let me know what you think.<p> 


	60. Chapter 58: Heavy Metal

Chapter 58: Heavy Metal

Yet another week has past and Tom has made his way back to Olivine City waiting for Tia to return. It's midafternoon and she still hasn't shown up at the Pokémon Center so he decides to check to make sure she hasn't already headed to the gym.

Tom enters the relatively empty gym and still no sign of Tia. Jasmine herself is patiently waiting for her opponent as she straightens up the gym. She is quite methodical and meticulous for a gym leader who knows the arena is just going to be trashed by the end of the battle anyway.

"Still no sign of Tia. Weird, usually by now she'd be busting down the doors shouting she wants a gym battle." Tom's grown to miss Tia's brash and impulsive behaviors. He enjoyed spending the past couple weeks with Sabrina, paperwork aside, but he's really come to enjoy travelling with Tia.

"So long as she puts up a good fight I'll be patient." Jasmine sits down on one of the bleachers. "So how has your break been?" Jasmine leans back and dangles her feet over the edge of her seat as she makes small talk.

Tom sits down beside her and shrugs, "I was glad I got to spend time with Sabrina, but did you really have to tip off Lance about my location? He had mountains of paperwork for me to do." He looks down at his paper cut and callus hands.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" She asks with a sneaky grin.

"I'll have you know, this is your peer evaluation sheet right here." He waves a few papers around and starts filling in information. "Gym leader fails to demonstrate wit and annoys evaluator." He pretends to write this all down.

"Well better revoke my license now." She matches his snarky attitude with a facetious comment of her own. The two continue to meander around a bit until the doors to the gym slide open.

Tia walks through with a confident air about her. She walks in wearing the same fitness attire she had been wearing while training with Chuck. She changed out her hemp cloth wrappings with black, fingerless gloves. She approaches the arena with a stoic look on her face and a confident stride.

Tom looks awestruck, it's as if Tia is entirely different person. Her body is much more toned and muscular while not too defined. Her arms and legs are still slender and feminine, but definitely have some definition to them. Her clothes also show off her midriff and tight core. What really gets Tom is the total change in her attitude. Tia has always been strong and determined, but she seems so much more confident and almost exuding energy.

She catches him staring, "It's been a while Tom," her tone even seems more substantial while still calm and serene. She looks to Jasmine. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I'm ready for my gym battle now."

Jasmine smiles, "I must say, even if it was only for a few minutes you're definitely not the same girl I met the first time." This pleases Jasmine greatly as she pulls out her first Pokeball. "I will love to see everything Chuck taught you first hand. Go Magnemite!" Jasmine wastes no time calling out her first Pokemon who is just as anxious to fight as she is. "I trust you won't disappoint." Jasmine gives Tia a cocky grin as she waits to see what her opponent will call out.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Go Togepi!" In a surprise turn of events Tia calls out her baby Pokémon into battle. "We weren't just sitting around for two weeks."

"I should hope not. As you know this is an official Pokémon league match. The battle continues until either side is unable to battle. Only the challenge may switch out their Pokémon. So I will let you have the first move." Jasmine gracefully offers Tia the floor.

"Thank you, Togepi use Ancient Power!" She points at Magnemite. Togepi cheers and waves her small hands as a cluster of rocks manifest and fall onto Magnemite.

"Dodge them Magnemite!" Jasmine's Pokémon does its best to avoid the falling rocks, but can't hardly dodge them all. "Sonic Boom to knock some away!"

"Extrasensory Togepi!" Tia takes the chance to make another attack while Magnemite is distracted. Togepi once more waves her little hands and fires off a wave of psychic energy at Magnemite. A direct hit manages to knock Magnemite further off kilter. Tia is pretty confident in her stance at the moment. Her baby Pokémon hasn't even so much as broken a sweat, nor has she. Though Tia knows there's much more to Jasmine than this.

"I must say you're definitely much stronger than I'd originally anticipated. Did Chuck finally find a kindred spirit? Is that why he was training you?" Jasmine seems to have Tia pegged.

"You got me, Chuck taught me a lot. Thank to him, I now know I'm an Adept." Tia smirks with a gleam in her eyes.

Tom's eyes widen. "An Adept? I can't believe it." He's both stunned and bemused. "This will definitely be interesting. I never met an Adept other than Chuck, still I would have never pegged Tia for one." Tom watches the battle as he talks to himself.

Tia has trained her Togepi very well in such a short time. Her skills as a trainer have also increased dramatically in the process. "Alright Togepi, let's end this now. Extrasensory once more." Tia commands her Pokémon with a calmness and confidence that feels very unfitting of her usual hyperactive self.

"Not so fast! We aren't going down that easy. Magnemite give the Togepi a Thunderbolt to remember!" Jasmine seems a bit unnerved by Tia's attitude and general lax nature in this battle. Magnemite floats around and avoids Togepi's attack and fires off a might burst of electricity. The bolts fly off and right towards Togepi.

Tia stretches out her hand. "Light Screen," An array of light shines in front of Togepi which absorbs a great amount of the damage for her. "Ancient Power," Tia's gaze is cold and commanding. She knows this Magnemite is easily the weakest Pokémon on her team. With the final strike Magnemite is crushes under the rocks and Togepi jumps for joy. A light washes over her in the process. "Perfect, we got the stat boost."

Jasmine groans, "Well that was not good. I better break out the big guns before I lose face. Go Magneton!" Jasmine's next Pokémon comes out with a much stronger presence to it and she is not about to lose so easily as last time. "Let's start with a Thunderbolt!"

Togepi stands strong in place and lets the Light Screen absorb the attack. This attack however is much more powerful than the last. "Shake it off Togepi. Go for another Ancient Power." She knows full well that her attacks are predictable, but she is mostly working on wearing down her opponent.

"Not this time! Sonic Boom!" Jasmine's getting locked in the heat of battle, she can tell Tia herself is really feeling it too. The attack falls with great speed. The damage is immense, but Magneton isn't going down anytime soon. To Tia's luck she once more gets the stat boost from the attack in the process.

"Enough of this, use Magnet Bomb." Jasmine goes straight for Togepi with an attack she knows doesn't miss. Togepi is starting to show signs of fatigue after the onslaught of attacks. "Keep up the assault if she's going to use the same old strategies over and over this should be easy." Jasmine is pretty confident in her stance as Togepi continues to stand still.

"You're completely missing the point Jasmine." Tom says quietly to himself while Tia clearly has a much deeper strategy in mind.

"One last Ancient Power," Togepi watches carefully as Magneton floats through the air. With one last onslaught of rocks Togepi nails Magneton with a powerful hit. To Tia and Togepi's luck they get a third and final stat boost.

"Good for you, but this is the end!" Jasmine orders on last Thunderbolt to finish off Togepi. The lightning rips through the room and hits the critically weakened Togepi right as Light Screen fades.

"Hang in there Togepi." Tia closes her eyes and gives a small amount of her energy to her Pokémon. Togepi manages to stay standing once the smoke clears.

"How is that possible?" Jasmine is awestruck by Togepi's resilience and Tia's uncanny ability manipulate the tide of battle in the smallest ways.

"Togepi, Baton Pass." Tia takes a deep breath as Togepi retreats back into her Pokeball. She closes her eyes and exhausts calmly. Her head darts up and her eyes begin to shine in a way Tom is familiar with, but the radiance is so much more intense. As if she's truly come alive. "Go Pupitar!" Tia raises her voice for the first time in the battle.

"No way, a Pupitar. Where did she get her hands on a pseudo-legendary Pokémon?" Tom is practically shaking with anticipation.

"Thanks to Baton Pass we get to keep all those nice stat boosts. So Pupitar will have quite a Dark Pulse in store for Magneton." On that cue Pupitar trains his eyes on Magneton and blasts off a powerful burst of dark energy at Magneton taking it out in an instant.

Jasmine is taken aback by the sudden onslaught, but she has confidence in her final Pokémon. "You may have a strong Pokémon there, but you still have the disadvantage against my Steel Types. Go Steelix!" Jasmine calls out her final Pokémon, a giant, steel serpent like Pokémon with a massive, threatening mouth.

"Bring it on, I'm always ready to overcome weaknesses." She has five other options, but she wants her Pupitar to experience a true gym battle since she couldn't use him effectively in the previous match. Nonetheless, she still understands that Jasmine is not a trainer to be taken lightly.

Jasmine smirks, "I'll have you eating those words. Steelix use Dragon Breath!" In a bit of a surprise Steelix's metal jaw opens and unleashes a powerful outpouring of energy.

The attack is honed in on Pupitar who stands patiently for Tia's orders. Total trust, something the two have mastered. Tia's ability to think on her feet has always been the key to her battling. "Jump back and use Sandstorm Pupitar." Pupitar does just that. Mere inches from the blast Pupitar hops back and avoids the powerful Dragon Breath. The rocks in front of him are reduced to rubble and kicked up in smoke. This provides perfect cover for Pupitar as he calls upon a mighty Sandstorm.

"Clever, but you know Steelix isn't affected by Sandstorm's conditions." Jasmine boasts as she sees her colossal Pokémon simply braving the attack.

"True, but how well can he see in it?" Tia smiles. She knows her visibility is also limited, but Pupitar is more than capable of navigating the Sandstorm. "Pupitar use Dark Pulse." From amidst the sandstorm a pulse of dark energy flies towards Steelix and blindsides him.

Jasmine uses this chance to find their foe. "Steelix, Ice Fang!" Steelix lunges forward and snaps at Pupitar with his icy maw. Pupitar was not prepared for this sudden retaliation and is caught off guard. Tia's own limited visibility is also hindering her abilities to affectively give out orders. She knows Steelix is much faster than Pupitar so she has to slow him down. "Looks like your strategy is starting to backfire on you." Jasmine poses confidently behind her giant Pokémon.

Tia laughs, "Now we're starting to have some fun." She looks amidst the sandstorm and spots the shadow of her Pokémon and Steelix. She closes her eyes. Jasmine isn't attacking so she cannot see her opponent, Tia assumes. "Pupitar keep running around Steelix and give it a Rock Slide." Pupitar keeps moving as rocks fall all around Steelix and serve as little more than a minor annoyance to the Steel/Ground Type.

"Slam Steelix!" Jasmine is getting a little tired of Tia's game of cat and mouse. Steelix's whole body crashes down on a pile of rocks that he thinks is Pupitar and flails his tail around to hit his opponent.

"Rock Slide and follow up with Thrash on those rocks!" More rocks continue to manifest and crash down on Steelix as Pupitar oddly enough runs up to the piles of boulders and begins breaking them apart. The strategy becomes quite apparent soon. The broken fragments fly off and land on Steelix. Pupitar is trying to bury Steelix in rock and Jasmine is unable to see this.

That is until the sandstorm begins to fade. She sees her Pokémon unburying himself in the rocks and gives him a smile. Tia's once obscured Pokémon is slowly being revealed. "There's our opponent. Finish him with an Ice Fang!" Steelix furiously lunges forward and goes to bite at Pupitar with an icy snap.

Tia chuckles, "Just stay right there Pupitar." As Steelix draws closer he is suddenly jerked back and stumbles to the ground. "I wasn't trying to damage Steelix much." She points to Steelix's tail that is finally revealed from the sands. It's completely buried and wedged in the rocks stopping Steelix just shy of Pupitar. "Dark Pulse Pupitar." Tia snaps her fingers and Pupitar hits Steelix head on with a powerful Dark Pulse rending the giant Pokémon unable to battle. Tia smiles and runs up to Pupitar. "We won!" She picks him up and wraps her arms around him.

Jasmine simply nods and calls back her Steelix, "I must say, you're definitely not the trainer I was expecting you to be. I guess all that training on Cianwood really did the trick." She holds out her hand with the Mineral Badge resting in her palm. "You more than earned this."

Tia smiles and calls back her Pokémon. "Thank you, Jasmine. You made that a challenging battle for sure. I would like to have a serious battle with you someday."

The two shake hands, "Someday we will I'm sure."

The two hear clapping from the background, specifically two sets of hands clapping. Tom walks up with Volkner beside him. Both nodding impressively at Tia. "I got to hand it to you that was an exciting battle to watch. I haven't seen someone get to Jasmine like that in a long time." Volkner speaks calmly, but smirks as he puts an arm around Jasmine.

Jasmine nudges at his side, "Yeah, yeah don't rub it in Volkner."

"Thank you, are you Gym Leader?" Tia isn't quite sure, but he wears himself like someone in the Pokémon league would.

He nods, "I'm the gym leader of Sunyshore City." His expression quickly turns back to his usual blank expression. "If you're ever competing in the Sinnoh League I would love a serious battle with you."

Tia's confidence is still on high as she meets his lackadaisical gaze. "I look forward to it." This definitely catches Tom's attention. Tia's already mentioned her desires to continue competing all the way to Hoenn, but looks like she has her sights set on Sinnoh as well.

The two wave goodbye, Tom without saying a word, as head out of the gym. They walk down the road towards the center as Tia blissfully admires her latest gym badge in her collection. She turns her head and looks back at Tom who just seems to be staring off into space.

"You've been quiet," she giggles and slows down to walk beside him. "No welcome back or inappropriate comment?"

Tom stops and Tia follows suit. He gives her a warm, one armed hug and finally speaks up, "Glad you're back." He smiles and continues to walk beside her. "Chuck use to tell me about Adepts and how they could subtly control the flow of battles. Even after battling him and seeing it in action I never really understood it until I saw you battling against Jasmine." He stops again and looks into Tia's eyes. "It's been two weeks and in that time it's almost like you've become a totally different person."

Tia nods, "I know, I feel it myself. I feel more in tuned with my Pokémon and myself. That doesn't mean I'm not the same old Tia." She chuckles. "Maybe a touch more patient." She looks through a little gap she makes with her pointer finger and thumb. "You're definitely more relaxed too. What have you been up to while I was training?"

He shrugs, "Not a whole lot. I went back to Saffron City to spend time with Sabrina. Only to be caught and forced to do a bunch of paperwork the league had for me to do."

Tia laughs, "Responsibilities finally caught up to you?" She nudges his side. "So how's Sabrina been?"

"Great, the gym's been stable and Silph Co. has renovate their Skyscraper since the incident so everything's back to normal." Tom snaps his fingers, "I almost forgot. Anna is the new Goldenrod City gym leader!"

Tia looks shocked, "That's great! We have visit her sometime."

"While you were gone I visited and had a battle with her. I wanted to see how Regigigas stacked up against my Rayquaza."

Tia's eyes light up, "Oh Rayquaza versus Regigigas, now that's a battle I would have loved to see. Did she give you a run for your money?"

Tom averts his gaze, "She kind of… beat me." Tom says so quietly wishing he didn't have to admit it.

Tia's eyes widen. "You lost?"

"Don't rub it in!" Tom safeguards his pride.

"Sorry, but wow. I would never have imagine Anna's a stronger trainer than you."

Tom stops her right there, "She beat Rayquaza, that doesn't make her better. If I used a full team of six I could have beat her. Still, she's a very strong trainer. Way stronger than she lets on." Tom wants to protect his pride, but he will concede Anna is definitely close to, if not on his level.

"Looks like I still have a ways to go if I want to catch up to you two." Tia happily accepts the challenge. "Once I beat the league I'll stop by and visit."

"You know, as much as I love being with Sabrina, and it's wonderful don't get me wrong, but I do love travelling around and all the adventures we've gotten ourselves into as well." Tom smiles and walks with Tia into the Pokémon Center.

Tia smiles as she hands her Pokeballs to the nurse. "I enjoy it too, I am glad we've spent all this time travelling together."

"You've really come into your own as a trainer. I guess I have nothing else to teach you." Tom says like an old master tells his pupil.

"What did you ever teach me?" Tia scoffs, "Your idea of teaching was figure it out yourself while I yell at you."

"And you learned well." Tom won't admit, but he's definitely not a great teacher.

Tia gives him a brief hug, "Thanks for everything Tom."

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoyed. Please do not forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter as well as the series as a whole. Well now things are getting pretty interesting. I decided to change up how battles play out a little bit. Mostly in Tia learning and adapting new strategies. Like using Togepi as a setup, Dual Screens competitive build. I wanted to change up the strategies to mix up the flow on battles. So I wanted to play a bit with my knowledge of the Metagame, not really deal with all the EVs, IVs, and whatnot. That way there is a bit more of this connection with the games as well as how they'd play out in real time.<p> 


	61. Chapter 59: The Rocket Intiative

Chapter 59: The Rocket Initiative

It's bright and early in the morning and Tom is still laying well rested in his bed. He wakes up to the glimmer of lights peering through the blinds of the Pokémon Center room's window. He opens his eyes and rubs the sleep out of them when he spots Tia on her bed. She sits in a meditative stance as she breathes slowly and steadily.

"Well this is a new one." He says aloud as Tia mediates in her own little world. "You asleep? Most people sleep lying down." He waves a hand in front of her face.

"I'm mediating. I need to channel my Ki or I can't effectively tap into my abilities. So please stop distracting me." She speaks like a true master of her Adept abilities.

Tom quietly steps out and grabs his clothes to get changed after a quick shower. He finishes and is ready for the day. He notices Tia still in her bed mediating. Her eyes suddenly open and she looks at Tom with an intrigued look.

"Morning?" He awkwardly replies. Tia blinks a couple times and shakes her head. "You alright?" He tosses her a fresh towel and sits on his bed.

She nods, "Yeah I'm fine. When I hone my Ki it sometimes lets me sense other people's Ki. You have a lot of it." She chuckles and is not at all surprised by this.

"Yeah, I know. I'm pretty awesome." He jokes and smirks with a cocky grin. "You really learned quick. I was getting empathic headaches and throwing temper tantrums when I started to develop my Empath abilities."

"Chuck said this is a bit different. Adept use their own will to control the flow of battle. Which means like a runner using up their stamina; I'm using Ki the same way. Except I have more than average and I'm capable of choosing how I use it. You just use it to empower your Pokémon and your own fighting spirit, but can directly use it to give your Pokémon that extra push." Tia tries to break it down for Tom the best way she can.

"So you choose how and when to use Ki. While everyone else just burns the same way we breathe air." Tom is able to break it down a bit better.

She nods, "Basically," she rubs the back of her head. "It's simple in practice, but a little tricky to explain."

"Trust me, I know your pain. Just imagine constantly getting hit by other people's emotions." Tom laughs. "Well get ready, we've got a long ways to Mahogany Town."

Tia nods, "Alright, but first breakfast. I'll whip up something quick." She runs out into the kitchen and immediately gets to work in front of the counter. Moments later the meal is ready with a selection of quickly prepared food.

Tom happily digs in, "Man, I feel spoiled. You don't have to make breakfast every morning Tia."

She shrugs, "It's a habit; I didn't get many chances back in Kanto so I'm making up for it now." She paces herself, but still practically inhales her food before getting up from the table. "I'll get ready so take your time."

Tom nods and continues eating. He calls out Cleffa who happily jumps into his lap. He gives her some Pokémon food and scratches her head. "You're so adorable. Yes, you are." He coos and baby talks her as he eats. He isn't even half done. Tia's learn to be more patient, but she still moves at Mach speeds compared to everyone else. He hears running water from the bathroom and figures he's got plenty of time to spare. He grabs a magazine from his bag and starts flipping through it.

"Huh? Chante's got a new novel coming out." He casually flips the page. "The Snorlax Diet? What does that involve? Eating around nine-hundred pounds of food and going to sleep?" He scoffs and turns the page.

He suddenly gets a call on his X-transceiver which he instinctively wants to ignore when it comes up Lance's name, but he answers regardless. "Tom, thank god you actually answered." Lance speaks with a bit of urgency.

"Funny, I was thinking about ignoring it. Got more annoying paperwork for me to sign?" He says rather unamused and not paying Lance much mind.

"No, this is important. There's a situation in Mahogany Town." Lance looks around at his wooded surroundings.

"What's going on?" Tom gets serious.

"Team Rocket is running around in Mahogany up to no good, but I haven't figured out what they are planning." He speaks quietly. "I need you here ASAP."

Tom nods, "Alright, we'll be there as soon as we can." He hangs up and turns to the bedroom door. He doesn't hear the shower anymore so he assumes Tia's about ready. He quickly runs into the room and alerts Tia. "Tia, we have to get going now there's-" He stops dead in his tracks notices that Tia was in her bike shorts with a towel draped over her shoulders barely covering her chest.

"Tom get out!" She quickly covers herself with one arm and punches him in the arm with her free hand.

He winces and shouts, "Ow! I think you broke something." He over dramatizes a bit, but she hit like a truck.

"What are you doing in here?" She shouts.

Tom quickly retreats and pulls the door shut behind him. "Mahogany Town is being occupied by Team Rocket. We need to go now." He voice is muffled through the door, but Tia hears his for the most part.

She quickly opens the door and walks past him, now fully clothed. "Let's go." She slings her bag over her shoulder and heads down stairs. "Should we Teleport in?" She suggests.

Tom frowns, "They'd be expecting that. We will need to fly in and land in the woods to the south so no one sees us."

"Alright," she follows Tom outside. "Go Skarmory." She calls out her trusty Steel/Flying type Pokémon to get the job done.

"Flygon," he mounts up on his Pokémon and looks over at Tia for a second.

"What?" She looks back at him confused.

"Nothing, I just never really thought about it before, but yours are bigger than Sabrina's." He smirks and quickly flies off.

"I will kill you!" She shouts into the sky as Skarmory follows. She picks up her X-Transceiver and calls up Sabrina. Before she can even get a word out Tia begins talking. "Sabrina, I'm about to punch your stupid boyfriend in the month!" She balls her fist with Tom laughing in the background.

"What did he say this time?" She knows all too well how Tom gets under her skin.

"He made a comment about how my chest is bigger than yours." She huffs.

Sabrina sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'll have the couch ready, but that's not the only reason you called is it?"

Tia nods, "Do you know anything about if Team Rocket was planning anything in Mahogany Town."

Sabrina raises a brow. "I vaguely recall something about the Lake of Rage, but it was very cloak and dagger. It was a project called the Rocket Initiative. Blaine worked very hands on with the project, but he never wanted to talk about it. I recall this is where he drew the line and really started resisting all the terrible things Rocket was having him do." She gives Tia a grim look. "Please, be careful. I can't help right now unfortunately, but I would be beside myself if anything happened to you or Tom."

"Don't worry, Lance is there so we'll be with him. In the meantime I'll call up Blaine." She hangs up and quickly dials up Blaine.

"Tia, it's nice to hear from you. In good health I see. What do I owe this pleasure?" He answers enthusiastically.

Tia wishes she could be all smiles, but she knows there's something bad going down at the Lake of Rage. "Blaine, it's nice to see you again. I wish this was just a social call, but we need your help. I need to know everything you know about the Rocket Initiative."

Blaine's blood runs cold. "Don't tell me- did they start that damn project up again?"

"That's what we need to know. What was the project?" Tia asks stoically.

"It was a project Team Rocket developed after seeing Team Cipher's Shadow Pokémon technology. They wanted us to artificially induce evolution and turn Pokémon into fighting machines. I abandoned the project and did my best to destroy every trace of that terrible plot." He clasps his head in his hands.

"It's okay Blaine. Tom, Lance, and I are going to make sure that this project is dealt with once and for all." Tia assures him.

He nods and gives a faint smile. "Thank you Tia, and good luck to you all." The two hang up as Tia approaches Mahogany.

Tom slows down and hangs back to fly alongside Tia. "Did you learn anything?"

Tia nods, "Team Rocket seems to have some sort of plan to turn Pokémon into fighting machines, but neither Sabrina nor Blaine had any specifics on the current plan."

"I'm not surprised, it looks like Rocket had secretly been operating here in Johto separate from the main division for a while. When we touch down we have to find Lance first." Tom looks as serious as ever while they fly rapidly towards their destination.

With Mahogany Town on the horizon they quickly dive low and land in the woods to the south of the town. The two quickly call back their Pokémon and make sure they didn't draw any unwelcome attention. They aren't alone in the woods. As they look around a grunt comes out of the brush and walks up to them.

"Good, you're here." The grunt quickly takes off his hat and puts his hands up defensively. He notices Tia who gives him a leery look but vaguely recognizes him from the time in Ecruteak, "Don't worry I'm not actually with Team rocket." His calm demeanor is enough to convince her.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person Lance." Tia steps forward and shakes his hand.

He nods, "Yes, and you're the Tia I've heard so much about." His face is stoic, but he gives her a glint of a smile before getting down to business. He turns to Tom, "The situation isn't looking too good. Rocket has an entire headquarters under Mahogany."

Tom's eyes widen, "Didn't that use to be a ninja hideout? So they occupied that? I bet this has been going on for years."

"No doubt, I've managed to infiltrate it as a fake agent and I managed to snag you uniforms so you can blend in." He produces a male and female uniform from a bush and hands them "Sorry if they aren't quite your size. They say one size fits all, but I can't say I agree with that." Lance stands patiently while the two slip into the woods.

Tia and Tom emerge a couple minutes later in full Team Rocket regalia. Tom fills out the uniform just fine. Tia walks out with her hair up in her hat and tucking at the bottom of her uniform. "It rides a little high for my taste."

"This coming from the girl who was just wearing thigh high, bike shorts?" Tom rolls his eyes.

"This is a skirt; it's different!" She awkwardly tugs at it.

"Oh whatever, it's not like anyone's going to be peeking." Tom brushes this off like she's worrying about nothing.

"I'm not so sure." She glares at Tom wishing her eyes were daggers.

"Am I missing something here? I can try and grab another uniform if you're uncomfortable with it." Lance tries to compromise.

Tia huffs and crosses her arms, "No, it's fine."

"Um… okay?" He remains level headed and just accepts it for what it is. "Anyway, let's head to that headquarters. I still haven't learned much about the plan, but the Lake of Rage is completely closed off to unauthorized personnel."

"What about the citizens of the town?" Tia is more worried about the people caught in the middle of this.

"Team Rocket has no interest in the people so they leave them alone for the most part, but all communications have been taken down. So long as no one tries to interfere the townsfolk are safe." Lance leads them out of the woods and into the town. Rocket agents run around patrolling and generally walking around town.

"Everything looks so normal, I can't believe they have an entire hideout under here." Tia looks around a bit herself and spots the gym on total lockdown.

"Where's Pryce?" Tom notices the gym too. "I can't believe he'd let this happen and I can't believe he'd be captured that easily."

Lance shakes his head, "To my knowledge he's trapped in the gym. I am not worried, but I have no idea what is going on in there."

"Should we help him?" Tia suggests.

Tom shakes his head, "We need to take down that hideout first. We make too many splashes in the town then we'll never get in the hideout. Besides, I know Pryce is fine." Tia may not know Pryce or his abilities. If Tom trusts that he's fine, then she'll take his word for it.

Lance motions to a small, unassuming store in town. "It's in here." He leads them inside the small building. Inside is just a simple souvenir shop with a strange looking man. He nods as Lance walks past and pushes aside a golden cabinet. Underneath is a stairway leading into the Rocket Hideout. Inside is rather large facility with many long hallways and diverging paths.

"Where do we head to first?" Tom asks Lance.

"We have three points of interest. The transmitter which is sending signals to the Lake of Rage. The control room where the power supply to the hideout is. Killing this will drop the communications jammer blanketing the town. Finally, there's the office of the Team Rocket Executive Archer." Lance has taken a lot of time to gather as much intelligence as possible.

"So why not run in destroy the power supply? The transmitter will go down and everyone will scramble. Then we hit Archer as they panic." Tom tactical search and destroy seems crude, but effective.

Lance shakes his head, "The transmitter has its own power source so that will just leave us running around in the dark. Plus, Archer would most likely teleport out in case of emergency."

"Well we can split up and attack the key points all at once." Tia suggests a risky plan. Though a plan she is more than willing to try.

Lance scratches his chin, "Seems a bit risky splitting up like that." He's not entirely convinced.

Tom steps in, "She's right, this is the best plan if you ask me."

"I'm not worried about you or me, but do you think she can handle it." Lance looks to Tom instead of asking Tia herself.

She clears her throat, "_She'll _be fine." She gives Lance a cocky smirk. "I've gone toe-to-toe with Morty and Darkrai. I think I'll be fine."

Lance nods while looking rather impressed. "Well, I won't argue with that. Who will take care of what?"

Tia immediately speaks up, "I'm going after Archer." She doesn't volunteer so much as she states it outright.

"Fine with me, I'll take the control room." Tom is more than happy to blow things up while Tia takes down the executive.

"Then I guess that leaves the transmitter to me. Good luck, both of you. The control room is down the north hall and Archer is to the west." Lance runs off to the east.

"I'll call you on the X-transceiver when I secure the control room. I will wait until you've got Archer taken care of." Tom runs off to the north with a Pokeball in hand.

Tia runs off to the west and notices all the grunts in the area so she slows down as to not alert suspicion. No one seems to give her a passing glance as they all navigate the halls. It makes her wonder if Team Rocket just hires anyone without much concern. If it weren't for the tacky uniforms they'd just look like everyday employees.

While she casually investigates she accidently bumps into another grunt. He grumbles, "Watch where you're going."

"Sorry," Tia looks at the grunt and after a second she recognizes him. "Silver?"

His eyes widen and he quickly covers her month. He looks around suspiciously and takes Tia by the arm and leads her into an empty room. He closes the door behind stops to silently gaze at her. Without any warming Silver puts his hands on Tia's shoulders and kisses her.

After a few fleeting second their lips part. Tia's heart rapidly beating as her eyes gaze back at him in surprise. She stammers, "Well, um… this is a surprise." She nervously rubs the back of her neck. She shakes her head and regains her senses. "Wait! What was that about?" She demands an answer, but definitely isn't complaining.

Silver blushes, but tries to keep up his usual tough guy routine. "I'm not sure what came over me." In his heart he felt this was right, but his mind is still trying to piece it together.

"Men!" Tia throws up her arms. "Answer me this then," she points assertively, but quickly loses her nerve, "do you like me?"

Silver blushes and sheepishly replies, "Yes,"

"Do you want to be with me?" She asks tenderly.

"No. Maybe?" Silver himself is still trying to figure that out.

"So why did you out of nowhere kiss me?" His brain is like an unsolvable puzzle to her.

He shakes his head, "I don't know? I thought maybe if I did this would make things clear to me." He sits down. "Seeing you here took me by surprise."

Tia sits down beside him. "I know how you feel, but Silver, we can't keep doing this if you can't figure out how you really feel or what you really want."

He nods, "Tia, I have no idea what love is. So my feelings for you are confusing. I lost my mom at five years old, my dad ran out on us to start this horrible organization, and I've always been an outcast. I never relied on others."

Tia rests her hands on his, "Silver, you know I want to be here for you." She looks deep into his eyes.

"I know," he looks away.

She places a hand on his cheek and turns his head gently to meet her gaze again. "To me love is when someone cares enough that they'd do anything to help. They do everything they can to make the person they care about happy."

Silver puts a hand on the one Tia rested on his cheek. "Tia, I-"

Suddenly Tia's X-transceiver begins to ring. The two quickly stand up and step back from one another. "Hello?" She nervously answers.

"Tia, the control room has been secured." Tom reports in.

"That was quick." She is rather impressed by his speed.

"Yeah," he looks around outside the room at all the knocked out scientists and fainted Pokémon. "What's your status?"

"I haven't found Archer yet, but I'll tell you when I took care of him." She leaves out the details about Silver.

"Alright, keep me posted." He hangs up. Tom sits down at a console and looks at all the wide array of security camera screens in the room. "You're definitely playing with fire." He mutes the audio channel and turns off the camera linked to the room Tia was in.

Tia puts her X-transceiver away and looks back at Silver. "Was there something you wanted to say?" She asks him anxiously.

Silver seems a little too stunned for words. "I'm sorry, this isn't the right time or place."

As much as she wants to hear those three little words; Silver was right. She wants to hear him genuinely say it. Not while tied up in the heat of the moment.

"Did I hear you say you're looking for Archer?" Silver quickly changes the topic.

"Yeah, we're taking him down and stopping Team Rocket here and now." Tia balls her fist and shoots Silver a determined glance. "I really want you to help me too."

Silver nods, "I am here to do the same thing. I know they're up to no good so I intend to stop it." Silver opens up the door and leads Tia out. "Archer's office is down the hall. Let's go."

From Archer's office a familiar man appears on screen. "Archer everything is goin according to plan. Ya not gonna believe this, but that Magikarp is fully evolved and a super powerful, red Gyarados." Proton gives a quick rundown of the situation.

Archer sits back in a large leather chair and takes a drink. "Good, now we just need to keep it under control. Not quite sure why it's shiny though?"

"Yeah, bout that. It's definitely _not _under control." Proton is sorry to report. "Things makin a bit of a mess of things here."

"Oh my god, can you people do anything right?" He shakes his head and presses a button linked to an intercom on his desk. "Jan, my Scotch isn't going to refill itself!" He shouts like the overly bossy executive he is. "Can you believe it?"

"That ya such a dick?" Proton scowls.

"No. Proton. That it's so hard to find good help these days." He slams the intercom button again. "Jan!"

"I'll see what I can do about controllin that Gyarados." Proton is about done with this conversation.

"Okay, try not to screw that up too." Archer reclines back in his chair.

"Choke on it." Proton hangs up the phone leaving Archer to his own thoughts.

Tia and Silver peek into his office through the slightly cracked door. "That moss haired jerk is Archer?" Tia can't believe he's an executive.

"Yeah, he rules with strength and authority. Definitely not because he's liked." Silver sneers just looking at him.

"Jan are you deaf? Scotch now!" He shouts like a giant, man-child.

Tia and Silver have managed to distract Jan from her desk. So Tia in an attempt to shut Archer up grabs the drink and walks in. "Your drink." She says trying to be courteous.

"Finally geez. Wait, you're not Jan?" He gives Tia a once over. "You're not too bad looking though. Are you eighteen?" Archer attempts to charm Tia. She promptly smacks him across the face. "Geez, a simple yes or no would have sufficed."

"I will kill you!" She shouts out in embarrassment. This, needless to say, was not the right time to say her go to line.

"So that's a no on the eighteen or older thing?" Thankfully Archer seems pretty use to this level of reactions from his grunts. He stands up and gets right in her face as he looks down on her. "Hey, you look familiar." He takes her hat and lets her hair fall down. "I knew it! You're that Tia that's been constantly interfering with our plans."

Silver immediately bursts into the room, "Tia get away from him!"

Archer lunges forward to grab her, but that doesn't quite work out the way he or Silver expected. Tia quickly jabs him in the stomach and stops him dead in his tracks. "I'm going to go with ouch." Archer chokes out the words before doubling over in pain.

Silver stands in amazement. Tia laughs and rolls up one of her sleeves to show over her toned arm. "All that training with Chuck sure has paid off."

Tom sits in the control room laughing his head off with his feet propped up on the console. "That's got to hurt." He casually watches over all the activities in the hideout. Something does catch his attention though. He leans forward and zooms in on one of the screens. "That's not good." He spots Archer's secretary returning to her desk. Tom quickly calls up Tia.

"Hey Tom, I think we kind of took care of Archer." She chuckles.

"No time for that, the secretary is heading your way. Get out of there!" Tom quickly checks up on Lance's situation. He's making his way to the generator without any difficulties, but he can't afford for alarms to be set off.

Tia quickly turns around and notices the secretary looking at Tia and the felled Archer. Without a word she quickly runs to her desk before Silver or Tia can grab her. She hits a glowing button under her desk to alert everyone in the hideout. Red flashing lights kick on as well as a loud alarm.

"This is bad." Tom starts messing with the console to disarm the security system. "Come on, where's the emergency override?" Tom is a bit more gifted in destroying large pieces of machinery than he was at operating them. Suddenly all the doors begin to lock as partitions begin to drop. The hideout is going into total lockdown. His X-Transceiver begins to ring. "Lance, Tia was discovered. I can unlock the path to the generator, but I'll have to manually unlock the doors one at a time."

"What about Tia? Shouldn't you help her?" Lance suggests as continues to traverse undiscovered.

Tom shakes his head, "She'll be fine; I'll unlock the pathway. You take out the transmitter." He quickly hangs up and get to work overriding the locks one at a time. It proves harder than he thought, but he eventually finds the right string of commands to unlock the doors. He watches as Lance progresses through the halls one by one and quickly checks up on Tia's situation.

The partition drops on Tia and Silver leaving them trapped in the room with an ailing Archer. He clasps his stomach and draws a Pokeball from his belt. "That's it, play times over. Time for a rampage!" He calls out a fierce looking Houndoom.

"Silver take care of getting the door open. I'll deal with Archer." Tia stands between the two and stares down Houndoom.

"Oh no you don't!" He calls out a second Houndoom that fixates itself on Silver.

He smirks, "I wanted a good battle anyway. Go Feraligatr!"

"Go Pupitar!" Tia calls out her own Pokémon into the fray.

"Houndoom give Feraligatr a Thunder Fang. Other Houndoom, _god this is going to get confusing_, give that Pupitar a Faint Attack!"

"Use Slash Feraligatr!" Silver orders his Pokémon to run in for the attack. Houndoom's speed quickly out maneuvers Silver's Pokémon and bites down hard on Feraligatr's arm. Silver doesn't seem too fazed by this and has Feraligatr Slash at Houndoom viciously until Houndoom let's go.

Tia takes a bit more strategic approach. She knows she won't be able to avoid the Faint Attack, so she plans an escape route. "Sandstorm!" The attack hit Pupitar as expected, but in the same moment Pupitar kicks up a sandstorm and conceals himself within it.

"Ah there's sand in my eyes!" Archer whines as he rubs his eyes. "Seriously, this could really damage my corneas. Have you heard of Corneal Abrasion?"

"Rock Slide!" Tia shouts as her key strategy comes into effect. Pupitar manifests rocks amongst the sands and hurls them at Houndoom who is getting scrapped by the sand whirling around it. Archer's Pokémon soon finds a much large concern in the form of several large rocks that are about to come crashing down on it.

Archer slams his desk, "God, you know what? Who cares?" He shouts in frustration. "It's too hard to concentrate on two battles at once anyway." He looks back to Silver who manages to sneak in a Surf while Archer was preoccupied. "Oh come on!" Both of his Houndoom are down for the count.

"Do you give up?" Tia just offers him to surrender.

"Yeah, this is going nowhere fast." He raises his hands. "Except, boom Abra! Woo!" He quickly calls out an Abra.

"Dark Pulse." Tia's reaction is blasé as she pretty much expected that stunt. With that Abra goes down. Suddenly the partition blocking their exit opens up.

"Yeah, I didn't think that one all the way through." He says calmly as he accepts his fate. "So how about this, you don't turn me in and you and I go get drinks later."

Tia turns bright red and scowls, "God, you are such an-"

"Amazingly nice person?" He suggests gingerly.

"Ass!" She pushes him out the newly raised door. "And I'm seventeen you creep!" She pulls out her X-Transceiver and calls up Tom. "Archer is taken care of. How's everything on your end?"

Tom continues to unlock doors, "I'm working on unlocking all the doors." He starts getting another call. He includes Lance in on their conversation.

"Tom, Tia. I managed to disable the transmitter." Lance communicates his success. "Most of the grunts are fleeing, I encountered a little resistance, but not anything I couldn't handle."

"Great, you all get out of here. I'll take out power supply." Tom gives them a thumbs up and cracks his knuckles. "All the door leading you to the outside are unlocked so run."

"Alright, how are getting out?" Tia asks quizzically. She knows he will be right in the blast radius if he tried shocking the system until exploding.

"I've got a plan, don't worry." He hangs up and lets out a long sigh as he watches the monitors. "_Well, this is a crazy way to go out._" He looks to the door behind him. Locked and impenetrable. In the scrap the fleeing Team Rocket members destroyed the locking mechanism to this room. "_Well, I guess going out with a bang isn't such a bad thing._" He looks once more at the screens. Tia, Silver, and Lance all making their ways out. All the Rocket grunts filing out as the entire facility gets evacuated. Even the men he knocked out on the way in are escaping before destroying Tom's only way out. "_Here goes something._" Tom stands up and calls out his Elekid. "Thunderbolt." Elekid looks back at him and nods, Elekid unleashes a powerful burst of electricity that fries the system. It begins to spark and smoke as it overflows with power. He quickly calls back Elekid and stands watching the sparks fly. The building begins to shake as the electricity feeds though the building and causes all the screens to explode. Wires fire off and spark as small flames rise around him and parts of the ceiling begin to crash down. He looks up and slowly takes in the chaos around him. He smiles.

Everyone vacates the building and starts getting running off to hopefully avoid the authorities. Tia, Silver, and Lance all wait patiently for Tom to emerge. Except, smoke begins to billow out of the building as fire erupt.

"Where's Tom?" Tia panics. She's about to run back in when Silver grabs her by the arm. "Silver let me go!" Tears begin to well up as she loosens his grip. As she breaks free from his grasp the building explodes in a violent blaze. "No!" She cries out and collapses to her knees.

Silver runs over to her and wraps his arms around her as she cries. She couldn't believe it. She won't believe it. The blaze begins to die down and she has almost give up all hope that her best friend could have survived.

Amongst the rumble a shaking occurs, instantly a powerful burst of aura erupts out and Lucario jumps out of the wreckage. He helps pull an arm out of the burnt rumble. Tom slowly crawls out, battered and beaten something awful. He calls back Lucario and begins to limp forward. His clothes are all torn and burnt, his skin burnt is a few places, a limp right leg, and his left arm hanging limply.

Tia couldn't believe what her eyes. She chokes up and runs to Tom. He gives her a weak, toothy grin and a thumbs up. She didn't know what to do. On one hand she wanted to cry and embrace him. On the other she wanted to slug him for scaring her and doing something so dangerous. Tom lets out a deep breath and slowly passes out. Tia quickly catches him and looks down at her crazy best friend.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with you thoughts on the chapter and the series as a whole. So for those who didn't quite catch on, yes, Archer is based off of Sterling Archer from the FX series "Archer". I thought it'd be a hilarious bit of flavor for the otherwise blank slate of a character. I feel like I really captured the spirit of Archer with this chapter and portrayal. I almost want to give him a larger role in the story, but aside from massive retconning and honestly trying to find a place for him that's most likely not going to happen. On another note, this is now sitting on top as the longest chapter now.<p> 


	62. Chapter 60: Storm the Lake

Chapter 60: Storm the Lake

Everyone's gathered at the Pokémon Center where Tom lays recovering from his dangerous stunt. Tia has already berated him for his near suicidal stunt. Tom himself is in pretty bad shape. Covered in bandages for his cuts and bruises. Ointment for his burns, a bandaged up right leg that thankfully it's fully intact, and a broken left arm.

Sabrina comes running into the room and cries out for her boyfriend. "Tom!" She runs to his bed and throws her arms around him.

Tom smiles weakly, "Hey Sabrina," his voice is very quiet and lax from the morphine.

"What the hell where you thinking? You could have died!" She weeps uncontrollably.

With his left hand he slowly strokes her hair. "I'm sorry, but I had to stick it to Team Rocket." He speaks calmly as he coughs and winces in pain.

"You better not ever do anything that crazy again!" She shouts as she buries her face in his sheets.

"I'm with Sabrina on that one. I can't believe you did that." Tia herself is trying to fight back tears. "How do you think we'd fear if we lost you?"

"Yeah, I got pretty lucky. Part of the ceiling collapsed in front of me before the generator exploded. Lucario helped dig me out." He lets out a deep breath and coughs. "Yeah, definitely not going to try that again." He quietly looks to Tia. "It's up to you now. Take them down and stop this plan."

She nods, "We will."

"Before you go, I want to speak to you in private." Tom looks more serious than ever. He knows something and he doesn't want others to know.

Everyone nods and steps outside. Lance takes a moment to have a talk with Sabrina. "He's very reckless."

"No kidding, but we can't stop him." Sabrina isn't happy about this, but she still accepts him for what he is.

"I heard about the stunt your brother pulled. Those two have a real knack for causing trouble." Lance lutes back to the Entei incident.

Tia comes out silently and looks to Silver and Lance. "We're getting Pryce then we're taking the battle to the Lake of Rage." Her whole attitude seems different. She seems much more empowered, but they don't know why.

The three step out in their normal apparel. Tia reaches into her bag and wraps her cloths around her arms and balls her fists. Both Lance and Silver are quite surprised by Tia's sudden transition, Silver has known her longer than Lance has and she is definitely not the same trainer he met back in Cherrygrove City.

They approach the gym where a great many Team Rocket grunts stand posted. "Stop, this area is off limits." One of the grunts stands between them as others stand poised and ready to battle to fend them off.

Tia drops one of her Pokeballs and calls out Typhlosion. "You have exactly one second to move." The grunt is definitely taken aback and Tia's deep, penetrating stare didn't make him anymore confident. Typhlosion runs forward to the door and begins to pry open the doors.

All at once the grunts target Tia's Pokémon. In retaliation Silver calls out Scizor and Lance uses his Dragonite. They provide Typhlosion cover as the doors to the gym are pried open. With a mighty roar the doors open and unleash a cold wind from inside.

"What are you doing?" The grunt shouts in fear.

"We're getting Pryce out of your clutches." Tia looks triumphantly.

"Our clutches? We're trying to keep him in you fool! We're still trying to thaw the last set of Pokémon we sent in after him." He runs away in fear with many of the other grunts. Turns out Pryce was in no way at Rocket's mercy.

Tia steps in looking a little confused. An elderly man sits with a Piloswine sipping on a warm mug of coffee. "Why hello there." He says pleasantly. He looks past her and notices a couple familiar faces. "Lance, good to see you are doing well. You too Silver. I was hoping to see you again."

"Pryce what are you doing in here?" Lance inquires since he's in no real danger.

He chuckles, "You see Team Rocket broke my door so I couldn't open it. I would have forced it open like that Typhlosion, but I didn't want to risk endangering any of the citizens. At least for the time being."

"We need your help getting to the Lake of Rage." Tia urges.

"Oh, and who might you be?" He smiles and walks up to her.

"My name's Tia."

Pryce smiles and looks to Silver. "Oh I've heard all about you." Silver silently averts his gaze. "So be it, I am an old man though. I doubt there is much I can do."

"That's not what Tom told me. He said you gained a reputation as the Mask of Ice." Tia says with a sneak grin.

Pryce laughs, "That boy, I haven't gone by that name in ages." He walks back to the rear of the gym and opens up a small closet. "Still if he feels that's necessary then who am I to argue?" He pulls out a small box and puts its contents into his coat pocket. He walks up to Tia. "You are a brave girl wanting to confront Team Rocket like this. You must also be freezing in those clothes." He laughs while Tia tries not to shiver too much in the cold gym. A sports bra and bike shorts are not very good and combatting cold like in this gym.

"Thank you, Pryce." The three quickly head out of the gym and are greeted by an oncoming wave of Rocket agents.

Pryce smiles and reaches into his pocket. "The Mask of Ice you say?" he puts on a white mask similar in design to Tom's, but with two eye holes and a black stylized smile on the front. "Come on out my old friend." He pulls out an older looking Pokeball that shows clear signs of age. "This may not come as a surprise to you Tia, but my granddaughter Anna and I spent a lot of time together. I taught her everything I know. She's grown so confident in herself recently. I must thank you and Tom for this. Now go Regice!" His giant, crystalline titan emerges from the ball and stares down the grunts before it. With single wave of its hand a cold chill fills the air. "Come on ahead, I will hold them off." Pryce instructs the other three to run off.

More and more grunts pile in as Regice gathers a large horde of Pokémon around him. Regice release a power wave of ice and freezes numerous Pokémon. A powerful Blizzard whirls up around it and consumes even more Pokémon in Regice's icy fury. As more gather a sudden burst of psychic energies wipes out a large amount of them.

"Ah Sabrina, lovely to see you again." Pryce takes note of Meloetta flying into the fray as Sabrina steps in.

"Pryce where are the others?" She looks around calmly for Tia and the rest.

"On their way to the lake as we speak. I must say those two youngsters, Tia and Silver are quite the trainers." He speaks fondly as they remind him of his youth.

"I know, she gets stronger every time I see her it feels like." Sabrina's definitely not blind to this herself. Morty told her all about their battle and how she stood her own against Darkrai.

While their intense battle for the town commences Tia, Silver, and Lance all continue along to the Lake of Rage where Team Rocket's terrifying plans are slowly come into motion. All the while more of Team Rocket's grunt intend to interfere. Lance steps forward with his Dragonite and carves a path for Tia and Silver. "Go on, I'll handle them!" Lance intercepts the grunts' advances as Tia and Silver run on through to the lakebed.

In the lake is a truly terrifying sight. A shiny Gyarados thrashing through the waters in pain, agony, and hatred. Its mind filled with aggression and twisted emotions. The transmitter may be down, but the damage has been done. A woman stands at the edge of the lake with clipboard and lab coat taking notes on the enraged Pokémon.

Tia and Silver come running up to this frightening sight and look towards the woman. "Are you the one causing all this?" She points to the woman, just barely older than she is, with Typhlosion at the ready.

She looks to Tia and Silver with an annoyed glance. Her skin is tanned like desert sand and her piercing eyes are clear blue as the sky above. "More distractions, I swear. No, I do not work for Team Rocket."

"Then who are you?" Tia demands with Typhlosion standing beside her.

"Think of me as a private contractor. Team Rocket thought they would be clever and try to copy our technology. Too little success as you can see." She speaks calmly and with authority as she takes notes. "I already dealt with that pain Proton. Now I'm going to take that Gyarados and see if we can't at least salvage this failed experiment of theirs."

"You aren't going anywhere. You're with Team Cipher aren't you?" Tia calls her out which surprises the woman.

She claps her hand, "Our reputation precedes us I guess. I am with Team Cipher, the name's Haruka. Now stand aside."

"Not a chance, Silver make sure she doesn't get her hands on that Gyarados and I'll battle her." Tia points to her Typhlosion who runs up and ready to strike.

Haruka shakes her head, "Such a pain. Go Magnezone." She calls her Pokémon and waits for Tia to make the first move.

"Flame Charge!" She makes her first move which Haruka makes no attempt to block. Even though the attack was super effective it didn't hardly seem to faze Magnezone. "That thing's strong."

All the while Silver is trying to tame Gyarados. Scizor flies up and gives it an X-Scissor. The attack is effective, but Gyarados is so enraged it seems completely unfazed by this assault. Still it flails around and crashes into Scizor. A Dragon Rage fires off wildly missing Scizor in the process thankfully. If Gyarados had more control over its wild temper than Silver would be in real trouble.

"Zap Cannon," Haruka snaps her fingers and her Pokémon hit Typhlosion head on with a brutal attack. "You're weak. Give up and I will let you escape."

"Not a chance! Typhlosion another Flame Charge!" Another powerful blow hits Magnezone, which takes Haruka by surprise. She fully expected Zap Cannon to finish it.

"That's enough fooling around. Zap Cannon and finish that thing!" Haruka's frustration is beginning to show as she continue her attacks.

Tia's smart enough to know how to dodge it though. "Dive under Magnezone and Flame Charge it again!" Typhlosion erupts in flames as he dives under Haruka's floating Pokémon and quickly strikes up knocking Magnezone off kilter.

"Finish it!" Haruka goes all in as does Tia. The two Pokémon charge forward. Magnezone with a Wild Charge and Typhlosion with Flame Charge. The two collide in a powerful explosion that shakes the surround area. The dust settles and Typhlosion stands triumphant over Magnezone.

"Don't think this is over." Haruka calls back her Magnezone and draws out another Pokeball.

In that very same instant in the blind of an eye a Pokémon appears and drives a might fist down on Typhlosion knocking him out cold. A man with a similarly tan complexion and a scowl on his face. "Haruka why haven't you just finished her and taken that Gyarados for yourself yet?" He looks rather impatient and definitely not pleased to be here.

"Sorry, Ryoko." She responds sheepishly. "I doubt she's a threat though."

"Hey!" Tia recalls her starter and calls out her Heracross. She gets a brief glimpse of her assailant. A shiny Metagross with a daunting expression. "I'm not going to lose that easily." Before she can even call out an attack the furious Metagross lunges forward and instantly knocks out Heracross with an almost unreal Meteor Mash.

"Get that Gyarados." Ryoko looks to Haruka who nods and starts walking towards Silver who was still locked in battle with the enraged Pokémon. She calls out another Pokémon her arsenal. A Zoroark with a nasty grin.

Tia grits her teeth and thinks back to her conversation with Tom from earlier.

"This project Team Rocket is conducting sounds a lot like something a group called Team Cipher does." Tom explains from his bed. "They artificially close off the door to a Pokémon's heart and turn it into a fighting machine."

"Do you think there's a connection between the two groups?" Tia sits close beside his bed.

"I know there is. Sabrina and I fought them back in Viridian while you were handling Giovanni. Then the same duo tried to use a similar device to enrage Moltres and Zapdos." He explains further their joint efforts with Team Rocket.

"So they may be involved again?" Tia gets the gist of what Tom's getting at. "Don't worry, I can handle a couple grunts from another group."

"No, they're different. These two are almost as strong as I am. You wouldn't stand a chance in a head-to-head battle. That's why I want you to use this." Tom leans forward and reaches for his bag. He grunts and produces a Pokeball in his hands.

He extends his hand and places it in Tia's. "Is this-" She's interrupted when Tom puts a finger on her lips and nods. "Are you sure he'll listen to me?"

"It's a gamble, but he's the only one who will get them to retreat." Tom lies back down and watches Tia step out before he looks back to the ceiling and sighs.

Tia now has no choice, Tom's Pokemon is the only one who will be able to help. She swallows a lump in her throat. "I won't lose!" She shouts at both of them.

Ryoko laughs, "This battles already won. There's not a Pokémon you have that could beat the two of us." His cocky attitude bothers Tia all the more.

She finally musters up all her strength and throws the Pokeball. "Go Rayquaza!" A brilliant light emerges as the enormous dragon emerges and bolts into the sky. "Now are you ready to give up?" She boasts with the power of a legendary Pokémon on her side.

Ryoko drops to his knees, "That can't be yours! There's no way you can control him!" He cannot believe his eyes. Even Haruka is too stunned for words. If Silver weren't so focused on his battle with Gyarados he'd be standing in disbelief.

"Rayquaza use Dragon Pulse on Metagross." Rayquaza looks at the Metagross and back at Tia. This is not his trainer and yet she is trying to command him. He slowly turns his head and ignores her order. Tia balls her fist and focus solely on Rayquaza. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, all she visualizes is herself and Rayquaza. Her eyes shoot open and she lets out a mighty shout. "Rayquaza, I said use Dragon Pulse!" Her voice echoes loudly throughout the whole area. Rayquaza looks back at her in amazement and cries out with an earth shaking roar. A huge pulse of energy erupts from Rayquaza's body and hit Metagross knocking it out immediately.

Ryoko couldn't believe his eyes. "Haruka we have to get out of here!"

"Not without Gyarados!" She shouts back to him as she closes in on the weakened Pokémon.

"Outrage!" Tia continues to command Tom's Pokémon into a powerful Outrage which levels Zoroark in a second flat.

Haruka quickly realizes the hopelessness of the situation and retreats. Ryoko calls out an Alakazam and orders it to teleport them out of there. "We won't forget this."

The two vanish and Tia takes a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Rayquaza. I may not be your trainer, but I'm glad you helped me." The legendary dragon floats passively in the air as he continues to look at Tia. She calls him back and sits down. Sweat pours down her face as she pants erratically. "So that's the power of a legendary Pokémon?"

Lance, Pryce, and Sabrina all coming running to the lakebed and look around to see what's going on.

"What just happened? I saw Rayquaza, but Tom's in no condition to be battling." Sabrina is terribly confused by whatever happened while she fighting off the grunts. The same grunts that ran in fear of Rayquaza.

Tia holds up Tom's Pokeball. "I'll have to tell him thank you later."

"You used Rayquaza?" Lance couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"He was against it in the beginning, but Rayquaza listen to me after all." She giggles and looks towards Silver who is finishing up his battle with Gyarados.

"Weavile, finish it with Night Slash!" Silver's Pokémon lunges forward and slashes at the shiny Gyarados which finally fells the enraged Pokémon. He quickly tosses a Pokeball and tries to catch it. The ball shakes once, twice, three times and locks with a ping. Silvers sighs in relief and picks up the newly acquired Gyarados.

Tia runs up to him and embraces him. "We did it!" she cheers and holds him close.

He blushes, but notices everyone looking. "Get off of me." He tries to be aloof, but Tia isn't buying it. She giggles and kisses him on the cheek. To which he blushes once more.

Suddenly, Proton rubs the back of his head and gets up and realizes he's handcuffed. He looks up at Tia, Silver, Sabrina, Lance, and Pryce as the expression on his face grows more and more grim. "Well, this kinda sucks. First I'm knocked out by that Cipher broad and now I'm here." He grunts and just gives up after all his poor fortune.

The five grab Proton and head back to town to meet with authorities. Lance and Pryce answer any questions the police have and keep the media at bay so the young trainers can relax. Sabrina and Tia both first head for Tom's room where he rests peacefully.

"I'll just keep this on his nightstand." Tia whispers to Sabrina as returns Rayquaza and tip toes out. Sabrina gives Tom a quick kiss on the forehead which makes him smile in his sleep. Tia could help think how peaceful Tom looked in his sleep. The two walk out head to their own separate rooms.

"What a day." Sabrina lays back on her bed and stretches out. "I bet you must be exhausted." Sabrina chuckles and looks over at Tia.

"Yeah, I never thought controlling a legendary Pokémon could be so taxing." She still feels fatigue from that.

"The fact that you controlled Rayquaza at all is what amazes me." Needless to say Sabrina's never seen anyone other than Tom controlling him.

"I am too, maybe because I'm an Adept helped?" She ponders to herself.

"An Adept? Wait those are actually real?" Sabrina is a little surprised by this fact. "Moreover, you're one?"

Tia nods, "Chuck trained me and he told me I learned quickly. Maybe my Ki was able to reach Rayquaza and bond with him. That or it was just my stubborn determination." She giggles and lies down herself.

"I guess you being an Adept makes sense, because you are definitely more than an ordinary girl." She is glad this chaos is all over, but she still worries about Tom. Something quickly comes to her mind. "What's the deal with you and that Silver guy? Are you two an item?" She asks with a lively grin. Tia's look of disappointment says it all. "It's complicated?"

"It's complicated." She echoes and lets out a sigh, "Why are boys so hard to understand?" She looks to Sabrina for advice.

She laughs, "Yeah, because we're so easy to understand ourselves." Sabrina gets up and sits next to Tia on her bed. "Emotional baggage tends to get in the way. Now I don't know his story."

Sabrina is about to continue when Tia blurts it out. "He's Giovanni's son."

She pauses for a minute, "Wow, okay. So that explains a lot of things. I didn't even know Giovanni had a family." All this is news to Sabrina.

"I shouldn't have said anything, but Giovanni abandoned his dying wife and five year old son to startup Team Rocket." Tia gives Sabrina a brief recap of everything she knows.

"So I can entirely see why Silver's a bit… jaded." She stops to think for a minute. "Listen, if you really care about him than you already know what to do. Odds are he feels the same, but it's hard to let people in. Tom had times like that. Being an Empath every emotion affected him. It made it hard in the beginning, but we made it work. Well, certain incidences aside." She shifts nervously.

Tia sits up. "You're right, I'm going to go talk to him." Tia lets out a bit of a disheveled sigh and walks out of the room.

Silver himself is just lying on a bed in a room of his open staring blankly at the ceiling. He hears Tia's footsteps as she approaches his open door. "Come on in," he doesn't resist or turn her away which makes her happy at least.

"Hey Silver, that was a great battle against that Gyarados." Tia timidly brooches the subject with a little small talk.

"Thanks, but where in the world did you get Rayquaza?" Silver has no knowledge of Tia's past experiences and the run-ins with legends or that Tom having one himself.

"Actually Rayquaza isn't mine. It's Tom's Pokémon. He gave him to me to use in case Team Cipher showed their faces. That's not really what I want to talk about though." She and Silver both know what this is about.

"There's still a lot I need to sort out first. I know that's not what you want to hear and I don't expect you to wait while I figure this crap out." He knows it's not fair to her and he doesn't want her to have to deal with his indecisiveness if she doesn't want to.

"I understand," she softly places a hand on his as she takes a seat beside him. "I can only imagine what it's like going you whole life not being able to trust others. If I've learned anything it's how to be more patient." She speaks softly as her hand caress his. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Relax, I need a break after all the crap that's been going on, I'll stick around a few days then probably head for the Pokemon league." Silver continues to stare to the ceiling without breaking his line of sight.

"The league? So you already got all your badges?" Tia realizes that she's kind far behind.

"Yeah, haven't you?" He's surprised that she apparently hasn't.

Tia shakes her head, "I spent the last couple weeks training on Cianwood with Chuck. I only just beat the Olivine City gym the other day."

"That explains why Pryce didn't know who you were." He does take a second to look at her. "I guess that does explain your new look too." He refers to her change of clothes and toned physique. "It suits you well, I guess." He looks away as he tries to compliment her.

"Thanks, I guess." She giggles and stands up. "Well I'm with you on the whole relaxing thing. I'm taking it easy the rest of the day." She steps out of the room and looks back at Silver. "I am willing to wait Silver. I want you to know that."

Silver nods, but still decides not to look at her while he sorts everything out in his mind. He may still be indecisive, but one thing he does know for sure. Tia is one of the most remarkable trainers he's ever met.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review on your thoughts about this chapter and your thoughts on the series as a whole. So this was an exciting chapter. I was very happy with how it turned out. I have a more important matter to discuss though.<p>

Next week Tia's Tales will be off, because I will be debuting the first chapter of the new series. Pokemon Sagas: Shadow Destiny. Tia's Tales and Shadow Destiny with be both published bi-weekly from here on out. Pokemon Sagas: Shadow Destiny will follow the events of Team Cipher agents Ryoko and Haruka. I hope you're all excited for that.


	63. Chapter 61: Rest & Relaxation

Chapter 61: Rest and Relaxation

It's bright and early in the morning and Tia has already finished her morning meditations. She hums a happy tune while she cooks breakfast for everyone. A hobby she'll always love. On morning like this where she can just relax and not have to worry about anything at all. It reminds her of when she would spend her mornings cook with her mother and learning to cook in her free time. She remembers always telling the kids she wanted to be a chef, but Gary would always joke that she had no patience for cooking, but she knew that he was worse.

She finishes up cooking and grabs a plate for fresh scrambled eggs, sausage, and berry juice which she takes to Tom's room. To her surprise when she walks in he's already up and reading in his bed.

"Morning," he smiles with his usual toothy grin as the light shines in on him. Even with a bandaged up leg and broken arm he seems so cheerful.

"Good morning, I made you breakfast." Tia matches his cheerful demeanor. She presents him the spread and puts it on a table she wheels up to his bed.

"Thanks, but do you think you could have Sabrina deliver it for me while dressed up as a nurse?" He gets a mischievous grin on his face while he thinks about it.

She pinches the bridge of her nose and groans. "Shut up and eat your damn food. I don't want to hear about whatever weird roleplaying you have in mind."

"I'm joking, I really appreciate this." He gives her a much more genuine smile. "So what was it like using Rayquaza?"

"He was initially reluctant to listen to me, but I got through to him. I'm surprised really. I never thought a legendary Pokémon, especially someone else's would ever listen to me." That is the part that most interested her.

Tom nods, "No, I mean how you felt having all that power?" His question seems a bit more sinister when he phrases it like that, but Tia seems to understand where he's coming from.

She hesitates for a second, "It felt… right somehow. I felt like I was in full control and even though legendary Pokémon are extremely powerful and almost uncontrollable I didn't feel worried. I somehow knew Rayquaza would listen to me if I could break through to him. I wasn't afraid that he would go wild. I can't really explain it, but I never lost sight of the fact that I wanted to use Rayquaza for good and to protect Silver and that Gyarados." She may not know how to articulate it, but she knows deep down she isn't a trainer who is just seeking power for power's sake. She has this locus of control even though she could feel this tremendous at her disposal. Still, in the back of her mind that urge for power tries to fester.

Tom nods and smiles warmly, "I know exactly how you feel." He says this quite literally. "Well, go on and eat. I'll be fine." He smirks and waves as she steps out of the room. He pauses for a moment as he takes a bite of his meal. "Does that answer your questions?"

From the bathroom a person steps out wearing a blank, white mask. "Yes she… is a genuine trainer." Six responds calmly. "We still… do not approve… of her using your… Pokémon."

Tom rolls his eyes, "Yeah whatever, it was a very extreme circumstance." He continues to eat hoping she'll take the hint and leave him alone. "That'll be all Six."

"Hardly, many… matter still need to… be discussed." She insists on staying.

As she speaks the door suddenly opens and Sabrina walks through with a pink nurse's uniform on with a very high skirt. "Time for your medicine." She says flirtatiously and quickly notices they have company. "Ah Six!" Sabrina practically jumps out of her skin.

"Hello… nurse." She hesitates not due to her speak pattern, but because she doesn't quite understand what is going on. "I should… leave." She pulls out an Abra and teleports away.

"Did you just awkwardly embarrass Six?" Tom couldn't believe his eyes. He'd been trying to get rid of her all morning.

"Why was she here?" Sabrina regains her composure.

"I'll give you one guess." Tom leans back as he continues eating.

"The whole Rayquaza situation?" She looks at him puzzled.

"Bingo, I had to deal with that all morning." Tom lays back finally able to get some peace. He looks back to Sabrina in her nurse's attire. "I appreciate it Sabrina, but Six kind of killed the mood."

Sabrina blushes and nods, "Yeah, I'll go change." She concedes defeat and slumps out of the room. As she steps out she accidently bumps into Silver. "Oh I'm sorry."

Silver looks a little surprised. "No, I'm sorry." His reply is bit nervous as he tries not to address her now very regrettable clothing choice. "Have you seen Tia?"

She thinks for a moment. "Knowing her, probably on her way to the gym." Sabrina giggles. "Silver can I ask you something?" Sabrina's expression turns more serious.

He has a feeling he already knows what she's going to ask. "That depends."

"It's about your dad." Sabrina prefaces her question and stops before he cuts her off.

"He ran out on my mom and me when I was five years old. I don't remember anything about him other than his backstabbing face." Silver balls his fist and practically spits thinking about him. "So I don't know anything about him if that's what you're wondering."

"I know Giovanni all too well. He tricked me into helping Team Rocket a while back. He played with my emotions and manipulated countless others. I wanted to ask what you would do when you found him." Sabrina surprises Silver with her question.

Silver has certainly thought about toppling Team Rocket and Tia's even asked him what he would do once Team Rocket was defeated, but he can't say he knows what he'd do if he encountered Giovanni. Outside of beating him in a Pokémon battle and cursing at him for abandoning him and his mother. He grits his teeth and sighs, "I don't know."

Sabrina nods and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Your life doesn't end when you beat Team Rocket. They won't be around forever. Then what will you do?"

"I don't know." Silver confesses once more.

"You may think no one cares about you, but you know there is one who does way more than you can realize." Sabrina leaves on that note with some insightful things for Silver to think about. "You did well out there yesterday from what I heard. Pokémon battling is in your blood. Don't waste it on something as stupid as revenge."

"I know," he whispers and sinks his head as he walks off. He steps out of the centers and heads for the gym. He spends the whole time thinking about what Sabrina told him and what Tia has been telling him this whole time. The doors to gym slide open and let out a cold chill. He doesn't understand why Pryce enjoyed the cold so much, but he sticks his hands in his pockets and bares it.

Pryce is sitting towards the back of the gym with a Swinub in his lap and a cup of tea in the other. "Oh Silver, wonderful to see you visiting. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He wears a gentle smile as he sips on his tea.

Silver looks around confused, "Where's Tia?" He was expecting the two of them to be locked in battle right this moment.

Pryce gives him a quizzical look. "I haven't seen her. Did she says she'd be here?"

Silver shakes his head, "No, I just figured she'd be here bright and early battling you for the gym badge."

Pryce laughs, "You certainly seem to know her well. Though after the day you two hand a little resting is probably in order."

Silver nods, "That's true, I'll go look for her some more." He waves goodbye to Pryce and quickly steps out of the freezing gym. He embraces the warmth outside and rubs his hands together as he meanders through town. Silver sees no sign of Tia anywhere, but does happen across Lance who was surprisingly still in town.

Lance notices him too and flags Silver down. He hangs up his X-Transceiver and approaches Silver. "Hello Silver. I was looking for you." Lance keeps up his usual demeanor.

"What for?" Silver's not overly interested in talking with Lance at the moment.

"It's about that Gyarados you caught. I know a few people who would like the study it to see how Team Rocket did what they did." Lance speaks with authority, but Silver doesn't seem too receptive.

"I'm sure, but I plan on training this Gyarados myself. He should be more than strong enough to take you and the rest of the Elite Four on, plus it will be fitting that Team Rocket's experiment will be what finally crushes them for good." He speaks spitefully as he holds Gyarados's Pokeball in his hand.

Lance nods, "I understand you wanting to use him, but once that's all said and done would you mind lending him to use temporary. I can assure you that neither I nor the researchers will do any experimenting on that Gyarados." He gives Silver his word which is an honor Lance does not take lightly.

Silver finally nods in compliance. "When I am finished with him, and only for a little."

"Thank you, Silver. I know it's not easy to trust a virtual stranger with your Pokémon. So I understand your reservations." Lance does understand that any trainer would hesitate to willing hand over their Pokémon the way Silver will have to, but Lance appreciates that Silver is cooperating.

"Is that all?" Silver is ready to walk off.

"Yes that will be all. Unless you have anything to ask me?"

Silver takes a shot in the dark, "Have you seen Tia?"

Lance thinks for a second. "Earlier yes, but I don't know where she is now."

Without a word Silver walks off and heads back to the Pokémon Center. He looks around and checks her room to find it empty as before. He sighs and continues to wander around. There is one last resort he can think of. He walks up to Tom's room where he lays reading a book in silence.

Tom spots him and smiles, "Hey Silver, come on in." He motions him in.

He's initially reluctant, but Silver steps into Tom's room. "Hey, have you seen Tia?"

"It looks like a lovely day outside doesn't it?" He smiles and looks out the window as he ignores Silver's question.

"Sure. Now like I said." He tries to bring Tom back on topic.

"You think you could open that window for me. Sabrina went to get lunch so she won't be back for a while." He gives Silver a wide grin.

Silver rolls his eyes and opens up the window for Tom. "Now are you going to tell me where she is?"

"Who said I know where she is?" Tom chuckles.

Silver throws up his arms and starts walking towards the door. "I give up."

"Calm down Silver. If I just told you then I wouldn't have any company and it would get really boring with just Cleffa and me by myself." He lays back and hold Cleffa in his arms.

"_This kid is the world champion?_" Silver asks himself under his breath.

"I heard that. Who are you calling a kid? I'm older than you." Tom replies with a snide look.

"I'm seventeen." Silver blankly points out.

Tom pauses for a second, "Shut up."

"I'll go find her myself." Silver continues walking to the door.

"She's at the Lake of Rage." Tom finally spills the beans and tells him. "She wanted to do some training before she took on Pryce."

"Thank you," his thanks sound quite insincere.

"Go, run to her, Silver." Tom gives him a cheesy cheer.

"Shut up," he rolls his eyes as Tom laughs.

He laughs loudly and immediately regrets it. "Oh god, it hurts to laugh," Tom grips his side as he laughs. He finally calms down and looks to Silver whose back is to Tom. "Silver, try not to over think it."

"You sound just like your girlfriend." He shakes his head and walks out.

Silver makes his way to the north and through the now cleared pathway to the Lake of Rage. He had to admit it's actually pretty calm and peaceful when there isn't the threat of Team Rocket looming overhead. Although, all he cares about right now is finding Tia. With little effort his is able to locate her near the lake bed sitting with her Pokémon around her.

She looks like she's deep in mediation as she sits with her legs crosses and eyes closed. Silver quietly walks up to her and tries to not disturb her. "Hello Silver," she speaks softly.

"How'd you know it was me?" He sits beside her.

"Your Ki, I've noticed everyone's Ki is slightly different." She says this all with her eyes closed. She takes a deep breath and opens up her eyes. She smiles as Silver sits beside her. "I thought I'd do a little training here before I took on Pryce tomorrow. It's so relaxing here." She speaks softly as she looks out at the lake. A gentle breeze passes through her long, flowing black hair. "What brings you here?"

Silver pauses for a moment and finally realizes what he wanted to say. "I was just wondering where you were. Since you weren't at the gym."

"Well here I am," she giggles. "Do you know if Tom's doing any better?"

Silver rolls his eyes, "That explosion definitely didn't break his 'sense of humor'." Silver emphasizes this point with air quotes.

Tia giggles, "Oh trust me; he's a character. Tom can be strangely optimistic at the weirdest times. What was he saying?"

"He kept going on about the weather and then told me to run to you like it's some kind of romantic gesture." Silver just rolls his eyes and continuing gazing off at the lake.

Tia laughs, "Yeah that sounds like something he would say. Don't worry I'm not expecting some romantic gesture."

"Yeah, couldn't think of one to save my life anyway." He at least cracks a smile. "You think you'll do well against Pryce?"

Tia gives him a cocky grin but shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not too worried, but I do want to see if he'd give me a match under _special conditions._" Her facetious condition does catch Silver's attention. As he's about to speak she puts her fingers to his lips. "It's a secret." She winks with a teasing giggle.

He blushes and nods. She lowers her finger and he resumes speaking. "You're just doing this because you want me to see your match." He sees right through her little ruse.

"That and I don't want to ruin the surprise. Trust me, you won't want to miss this match." She winks again and looks back out to the lake. "I think I could go for a swim in the lake. Care to join me?" She politely offers, but she has a feeling that she already knows his answer.

Silver shakes his head, "I can't swim so no thanks." He stands up and begins to walk off.

"Can't swim? I can teach you!" This is her really last ditch effort to convince him, but she doesn't expect him to agree.

He sighs, "Some other time. Besides, I don't have a swimsuit." He waves goodbye and walks off. He walks down the dirty pathway back to Mahogany but before she's entirely out of view he looks back at her. Their eyes briefly meet for a second and she energetically waves goodbye with a big smile. He smirks and turns back to the city. "She's definitely an amazing trainer."

Tia quickly retreats into the bushes and changes into her swimsuit, desperate hoping no one comes by as she rapidly changes. She reemerges in the very same red swimsuit she purchased back on Cinnabar Island. She adjusts it a bit awkwardly as she comes to an embarrassing realization. "Seriously? It's already getting to small? I haven't even had this thing a year. Oh well, I get a new one some other time." She reaches for her belt and calls out all her Pokémon.

Typhlosion and Pupitar aren't too interested in getting wet so they both sit down by the tree line and relax in the sun. Heracross flies around happily from tree to tree eating berries and tree sap while Skarmory perches himself atop a tree and starts eating berries. Togepi eagerly runs to the water and swim around in the shallow ends while Ampharos keeps a close eye on her.

Tia herself runs straight for the water and into the deepest ends of the cool lake. She didn't mind if the water was cold or not. She dives under and spots a school of Goldeen and Magikarp in the lake as she swims under the surface. She comes up for breath and starts floating on her back as she gazes into the clear blue sky. Tia wished she made more time to swim in between training on Cianwood, but makes a note to make more of an effort of this in the future. Lucky for her Hoenn is a tropical island so that won't be a problem.

After several moments of relax and being drifted along by the current she swims back to the edge of the lake. Tia grabs a towel and dries herself. She runs her towel through her hair and starts ringing out with her hands. "I swear my hair getting too long. It's like ringing out a mop." She takes note of the fact that since leaving her first time in Kanto for her journey that her hair has now grown to reach half way down her back. "I'll have to get a haircut once this is all said and done." She wraps the towel around herself and lies down in the grass as she lets herself dry off. After several minutes of lying down as the gentle breeze passes over her, she decides to get up and quickly changes back into her normal clothes. She calls back her Pokemon and heads for town, but not before giving the Lake of Rage one final glance.

Tia makes her way back to town as the sun slowly begins to set. She steps into the center where she spots Sabrina talking in a video call with someone. "I know, I'm sorry. Tom is still recovering and I want to make sure he's okay." Sabrina seems rather flustered.

"Trainers are starting to get irritated Sabrina." An older man on the other end of phone chastise her.

"You said you were fine with being my proxy. Just give me another day, please." She practically begs to the man on the other end.

He shakes his head, "I don't mind helping you, but trainers keep asking to battle the _gym leader_. Not her stand-in."

"I know, I'll be back tomorrow I swear." Sabrina rubs her temples and lets out a sigh.

"Okay, but please don't stress yourself too much dear. I know you have been very busy lately, then all this that just happened. I will try my best to keep challengers calm."

"Thank you, dad." She gives him a weak smile.

He looks past her, "I should get going; that girl behind you might want to use the phone." He smirks and prompts Sabrina to turn around.

"Oh hey Tia, did you need to use the phone?" Sabrina politely asks.

She shakes her head, "No, so this is your dad?" She smiles politely.

"Yeah, I'm her old man." He laughs and pauses for a second. "I'm sorry, could you step closer." He comment confuses Tia, but she does so anyway. He examines her face for a second. "You remind me of someone." He snaps his finger and exclaims. "Of course, your Noland and Violet's kid!"

Tia's initially taken aback and shocked, "You know my mom and dad?"

"Oh yeah, Noland and I go way back. Funny enough, my little Sabrina and I were there the day you were born. She was three so it's no surprise she doesn't remember." He laughs as the two girls look at each other is surprise.

"Well that's certainly an odd twist of fate." Sabrina chuckles.

"I take it your friends with Norman's kid too?" He has a faint nostalgic grin on his face. This generation was just as close to each other as the last to his amazement.

"Norman's kid?" Tia doesn't know the name.

"Tom," Sabrina informs her.

"Oh yeah, so were you three good friends?" Tia has to know now. Her dad was never really around due to being a Frontier Brain so she doesn't know him as well as she wishes she did.

"Oh yes, the three of us travelled together for a little too. Then we all became gym leaders. I stayed in Saffron, Norman moved around a lot as a gym leader, and your dad was eventually recruited to the Battle Frontier." He gives her a rundown of everything he thought to recall.

"Oh wow, what was my dad like growing up?" Tia inquires further.

"You aren't very close with your father are you? He was always so energetic and impatient, but he's a great guy. Norman always acted like such a know-it-all, though he did kind of know it all." All the questions do make him recall all the fun times he had in his youth.

"Noland was impatient and energetic. That certainly sounds familiar." Sabrina gives Tia a sly grin. "Apples don't fall far from the tree do they?"

"Cute, well it's been nice meeting you sir." She nods respectfully.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you too Tia. Goodbye Sabrina, tell Morty I said hello if you hear from him." Sabrina's father hangs up with a cheerful smile.

"Your dad's a really nice guy. I can see the family resemblance." Tia follows Sabrina up the stairs as they converse.

"Yeah, Morty took more after our mom." Sabrina chuckles.

"Speaking of your mom." Tia begins to speak, but gets nothing but awkward silences as a result. "Oh, I'm so sorry Sabrina."

"It's alright, I never knew my mother. There were… complications when I was born." The mood grows more somber for a moment.

Tia puts a hand on her shoulder, "Are you going to be alright?"

Sabrina places her hand on Tia's and nods, "I'll be fine, thank you, Tia."

"Okay, maybe you and I can talk more later?" She politely offers.

"I would like that, thank you." Sabrina smiles warmly and lets Tia walk off.

Sabrina takes a deep breath and clears her mind before stepping back into Tia's room. "Hey Sabrina. How's the gym situation going?" Tom sits up in his bed with pillows propped against his back as he watches TV.

"It's fine, my dad has it handled for now." She puts on a strong expression.

"A gym needs its leader." Tom looks forward the whole time.

"I know, but you need me too." She gently caress his cheek.

Tom smiles, "Sometimes our responsibilities are more important than personal commitments Sabrina." This is a shock coming from Tom of all people.

"I can't believe you're the one telling me this," she smirks and sits down beside him. "You feeling any better?"

"Another day of bed rest and I'll be back on my feet the nurse says." He looks to Sabrina with a sympathetic look. "I don't want you to get in trouble at my expense Sabrina. If you have to go then go. I'll survive." He doesn't want to make her seem unwanted, but he knows that Sabrina's standing with the league is still a bit shaky after the Rocket incident.

"I appreciate the concern dear, but its fine." She smiles and gives him a kiss. "I'll let you get some rest now."

"Thanks, I feel bad I won't be able to see Tia's match with Pryce. Will you do me a favor and watch the match for me?" Tom smiles and gives her puppy dog eyes.

Sabrina smiles and rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I wanted to see her battle anyway."

"Good, I want to hear all about it." Tom lowers his pillows and reclines back in his bed. "Good night Sabrina."

"Good night, Tom." The two share another quick kiss and she steps out to give him some peace and quiet.

Sabrina makes her way down the hall to the room she shared with Tia and closed it behind her. Tia herself was already in her room reading through a magazine.

"Hey Sabrina," she gives her a polite greeting and sits up.

"Hey, what are you up to?" Sabrina lies down on her bed. And looks over to Tia.

"Not much, just relaxing. I know I'll need all my strength for my gym battle with Pryce tomorrow." She stretches her arms and puts down her magazine.

"What's your plan for beating Pryce?" It's been a while since she's really seen Tia battle so this will definitely be interesting.

"Well unfortunately my Pupitar isn't going to do too much against Ice types so I'll probably lead off with my Togepi then Baton Pass into my Heracross or Skarmory. Ampharos is also a good choice. Still I want to save Typhlosion for last."

Sabrina nods and looks rather impressed, "That's a solid strategy, but his star Pokémon is a Piloswine so Ampharos might not be all that helpful."

"I'm not too worried about that. Will you come watch my match?" Tia hopes Sabrina will say yes, because she wants to show how much stronger she's gotten.

"I wouldn't want to miss it." She smiles warmly. "I did have a question though. Was my dad right? Are you and Noland distant with each other?"

Tia sighs, "It was hard since he was rarely around when I was growing up. I understand why, but still didn't make the situation any better. He always had high expectation of me becoming a Pokémon Trainer. When I turned ten and didn't decide to leave home I think it really upset him. So yeah, we're distant."

"I'm sorry Tia, I guess that's a sore spot for you." Now it's Sabrina's turn to feel like a real heel. "I'm sure he'd be more than proud of you know."

Tia nods, "I never wanted to be a trainer until Gary left for Unova that one day. I waited a year hoping he'd return to no avail. So I decided to try becoming a trainer myself and see if maybe I could someday be good like he was. Plus, my dad is probably ecstatic. I never told him, but I'm sure my mom has."

"I understand, for Morty and me it was a matter of living up to our parents' reputations. My dad, Saffron City's gym leader and my mom Ecruteak's gym leader. Morty never really got over losing our mom. That's why he trained night and day to become Ecruteak city's gym leader. That scarf he always wears was our mom's as well." She speaks soberly knowing the pain her brother's endured most of his life.

"It must be hard living with that, but I'm sure she's nothing but proud of both of you." Tia gives her an earnest and heartfelt smile.

"Thanks Tia. Out of all of us, Tom's the only one who never had too much drama. He was always the apple in his dad's eyes. His mom also used to be a famous Pokémon Coordinator. So it's definitely in his blood." She can't help but chuckle.

"Yeah, it's just too bad about his relationship with Anabel." Tia's comment immediately catches Sabrina's attention.

"He told you about Anabel?" She looks very shocked to say the least.

"I had to twist his arm a bit, but he told me about her. How they were supposed to be rivals and all that nonsense." She just dismisses this as a petty way of looking at things. "You know about her I'm guessing?"

Sabrina nods, "Yeah, but this is a surprise. He never talks about her with anyone."

"That's too bad." Tia lets out a yawn and stretches. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep. Good night Sabrina."

"Good night Tia, I'm looking forward to your battle tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a comment with your thoughts on the chapter, the series as a whole, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe in general. So as you all can tell we've officially switched back to a Wednesday release and that Tia's Tales has move to bi-weekly with the recent addition if Shadow Destiny. So next week will be the second chapter of Shadow Destiny and following will be Chapter 62. I'm mentioning this all now since this was a bit more of a lax chapter, but established a lot of things about Tia and her past. So I hope you all enjoy and don't worry Tia's going to have a very exciting battle with Pryce.<p> 


	64. Chapter 62: Subzero Combat

Chapter 62: Subzero Combat

The morning comes quick and well before the sun rises Tia is up and doing her morning mediations. Sabrina wakes up a bit after Tia and spots her. Sabrina smiles and catches on. Being a psychic it helps Sabrina to channel her abilities as well. She wasn't quite and up on it as Tia is, but she knows the importance of it. Sabrina closes her eyes and begins to slowly breathe in and out with perfect rhythm. As her focus intensifies she forms a mental black void to concentrate in. She slowly lifts a small picture frame sitting on the nightstand as a result. A result of her mediation whether intentional or not.

Conversely, Tia sits deep in her own world, but she slowly begins to sense Sabrina's presence more and more. As if they were on the same mental plane. The two open their eyes within their own worlds and gaze at one another. Tia looks pretty amazed, as Sabrina smiles.

"I'm psychic, I mostly can only use psychokinesis, but when I really concentrate I can use limited telepathy. It's not something I can really utilize since it's very limited in range and I have to really concentrate to do it." Sabrina speaks entirely with her mind.

"Wow, that's still amazing." Just as quickly as Tia gets the words out the mental link is severed. The two slowly open their eyes and meet the other's gaze. "I had no idea you could do that." Tia is still pretty amazed.

"Yeah, it's a neat trick. What about you? Does mediating allow you to tap into your abilities?" Sabrina heard about Tia's Adept abilities from Tom and is interested to learn more for herself.

"When I was in that telepathic place I could see your Ki and briefly when I opened my eyes." Tia explains the limits of her abilities.

"Really, what does my Ki look like?" She is genuinely interested in this.

Tia scratches her head, "It's hard to explain it. It's not like a color or anything or have a shape. It's like heats waves coming off your body. You had a lot of it, so does Tom, so I'm guessing that means you have a lot of Ki."

"That's definitely interesting. I guess you should get ready for your gym battle." Sabrina checks her X-Transceiver to make sure she hasn't gotten any new messages over night. All the while Tia heads off to get freshened up for her big battle today.

The two work through their morning routine and Tia make sure to prepare a hearty breakfast for herself and the others. Silver even joins them for the meal, while mostly remaining silent. Sabrina herself grabs a plate for herself and chooses to eat in Tom's room.

She brings him breakfast and sits on a chair beside his bed. "Thanks babe. Good news, I get discharged later this evening."

"That's great news. Though if you do something that stupid again I'll kill you." She jokes, but Tom can definitely read between the lines.

"I know, I think I'll cool it on the reckless acts of heroism. It's starting to catch up to me." He chuckles and winces. "Yeah, still hurts to laugh."

"Well take it easy until then. We'll be watching Tia's battle with Pryce so I'll be able to give you the recap once it's all said and done." Sabrina leans back in her seat and enjoys her meal.

"We?" Tom thinks for a moment. "Oh, Silver's watching too?"

"Most likely, otherwise he probably would have left by now." Sabrina sees right through his tough guy routine.

"Yeah, still I wish I could see this for myself." Tom hates missing out on a good battle, especially since he's been travelling with Tia so long and wanted to see her continuous growth after every gym battle.

"Well, there's always Blackthorn." Sabrina knows that Clair out of any of the gym leaders will definitely be a hard fought battle.

Tom's thoughts seem to be on the contrary. "I don't foresee her having any trouble beating Clair." He doesn't give much insight on why he feels this way, but Tom has never been a big fan of Clair's attitude.

"We'll see how it turns out. For now I better get going." Sabrina gives him a kiss and heads out.

Sabrina walks back into her room and sees Tia has changed into a long sleeve hoodie and a thick pair of pants. "You think I'll be warm enough in these?" She wraps her hemp clothes around her hands for a bit more insulation.

"Yeah, I think you'll be fine. I really have no idea how he can stand it so cold in his gym. It's like battling in a freezer." Every gym leader has the right to design their gym to best suit their style of combat, but Pryce took that idea and ran with it when he decided to turn his gym into an ice box.

"Yeah I know, it's crazy, but I'm sure the Ice Types love it." This also gives Pryce the home field advantage. While trainers focus on the cold he's able to focus solely on the battle at hand. It adds an extra level of challenge when battling the gym so Tia can't complain too much.

The two grab their things and head out with Silver close behind. He expects her to be able to beat him with little difficulty, but what she said yesterday had him concerned. He figures he's about to find out what these _special conditions _really are.

The walk into the frozen gym where Pryce waits patiently. "Why hello you three. It's lovely to see you all here today. I take it you're here for your gym battle Tia?" He speaks courteously with a warm and friendly smile.

Tia nods confidently. "You know it, and I'm not about to lose either."

"I respect your confidence." He looks to Sabrina and Silver. "If you would like I have heated seats right over there with warm mugs of Hot Chocolate and Tea if you are interested." He treats them more as house guests than spectators. "Well, shall begin?" He draws his first Pokeball.

Tia shakes her head, "Actually the one I want to battle is the Mask of Ice and his Pokémon." Tia points to Pryce calling him out.

"Mask of Ice you say. You do know what you're asking for young lady?" Pryce's identity as the Mask of Ice is pseudonymous with fear. Tom knows firsthand the power Pryce possess.

Tia nods, "That's right, I want a battle with Regice for my gym badge." Her bold declaration definitely takes the three of them by surprise. Sabrina is probably the least surprised. Tia would want to go toe-to-toe with a legendary Pokémon after the battle with Morty. Although, that was different. Tia was using her strongest Pokémon and Pryce is on an entirely different level than her brother.

Pryce gives a warm laugh and nods his head, "You certainly are an ambitious young woman that's for sure. Very well then." He pulls out his mask and Regice's Pokeball. "I will accept your request for a battle." He calls out his Regice whom looms over Tia menacingly. The very presence of a legendary Pokémon still gives her chills. Though that could also just be the extreme cold Regice is giving off.

Tia steels herself for battle and calls out her first Pokémon. "Go Skarmory!"

"Very clever starting with a Pokémon that can maneuver and out speed my Regice, but don't think you have the advantage. One solid hit and your Skarmory is out." Pryce's attitude seems to change when he dawns his mask. Much like Tom, Pryce literally puts on a mask in certain situations.

"I'm not that predictable Pryce, I know just how powerful legendary Pokémon are." Tia stands confidently and more than prepared for whatever Regice is going to throw at her. "Skarmory start with Metal Sound!" Skarmory takes to the skies and lets out a screech that shakes Regice and sharply lowers its Special Defenses. "Now dive towards Regice."

"Thunder Regice." Pryce calmly declares his attack. Both Sabrina and Silver look shocked to see Regice was ready with an Electric Type move.

"Agility!" Tia responds as fast as Pryce can get out his command. She knew he'd have more than just Ice Type moves. "I was expecting something like this." As she speaks Skarmory does a barrel roll with rapid speed and dive bombs towards Regice. "Now Steel Wing!"

"Superpower!" Pryce extends his arm towards Skarmory as Regice does the same. With a mighty, violent swing of its arm Regice's fist glows and plows right into Skarmory. Although Skarmory's Steel Wing did connect Tia's Pokémon was knocked back a great distance. Skarmory struggles to stay in the air and flies forward once more to make up for the lost ground. "How is that possible?" Pryce can't believe Skarmory is still standing after that attack.

"Look closely," Tia smiles with a sly grin as she points out a sash around Skarmory's neck.

"A Focus Sash?" His surprise catches him off guard.

"Bingo, Steel Wing once more." Skarmory flies forward and nicks the side of Regice with his glowing wing. The damage is minimal, but Tia knows it all adds up in the end.

"Ice Beam," he calmly lets Regice blast Skarmory with a powerful burst of icy energy. "I must admit that was clever. This match is far from won though," Pryce waits patiently as she calls out her next Pokémon.

"Go Togepi," her next choice is her baby Pokémon which definitely throws Pryce for a loop. "Start up an Ancient Power!"

Pryce examines the attack, "This is definitely a surprise. Why would you bring out a Pokémon like Togepi against Regice?"

He allows the attack connect with Regice, but the damage is pretty much nonexistence even with its weakness to Rock Types. He quickly learn to regret that choice when he sees Togepi get the stat boost of the attack. "So that's your goal. Very well then, Superpower Regice." Regice glides forward on the icy floor and whirls its arm back to hit Togepi whom is currently a sitting target.

"Togepi slide forward and give it another Ancient Power!" In a very risky move Togepi lunges forward towards her opponent as Regice's threating fist slowly comes crashing down. Just in the nick of time Togepi slides under the attack and between Regice's legs as she uses her attack. Rocks come crashing down on Regice and in a case of rather extreme lucky Togepi gets another boost from the attack. While Regice continues to suffer penalties from the Superpowers. This time the damage is starting to take a small toll. "Light Screen now!" Togepi immediately reacts and casts up a Light Screen to better defend herself.

"Sizes certainly does matter in a battle like this one. Now let's end this little game of cat and mouse. Thunder!" Regice turns on a dime and aims right for Togepi.

"Not a great move Pryce." Tia waves her finger and pulls out another Pokeball. "Togepi use Baton Pass!" As the bolt of electricity rapidly approaches Togepi quickly retreats back into her Pokeball and Ampharos takes her place. The attack hits and Ampharos simply takes it with a bold grin. "Power Gem!" Tia demonstrates Ampharos's newest attack. This was the true goal of her training. She knew if she could boost up Ampharos with Togepi that the Power Gem would be all the more effective. The debuffs from Superpower were just an added bonus.

"Clever girl," he smirks and admits Tia's thought out every aspect of the battle, but Regice is far from down. No matter how badly the Power Gem pelt Regice it was going to take a lot more than that to defeat him and his legendary Pokémon. "You get an A+ for creativity and a clever strategy, but that will only get you so far when you are facing the sheer force of a legendary Pokémon. Now use Blizzard!"

"Thunder Wave!" The two attack both fire off at the same time and hit in succession. Thunder Wave manages to paralyze Regice, but not before a powerful Blizzard violently sweeps over Ampharos. If it weren't for all of Tia's preparing Ampharos would have been one-shotted for sure. Still Ampharos powers through. "Quickly, give it an Electro Ball!" Ampharos leaps forward and from the bulb on her tail a bright light manifests and flies towards Regice. The hit to Regice's speed thanks to paralysis made the attack is all the more effective in weakening Regice.

Unfortunately, it leaves Ampharos in a very vulnerable position to get hit by one of Regice's nasty attacks. "Superpower to finish it off!" Pryce's blood is definitely pumping now. The hit is more than enough to deal the final blow to Tia's Ampharos and then some. He laughs from behind his mask. "I must say Tia, I haven't had a battle this fun in ages!"

Tia grins, "Glad to hear it. Now go Heracross!" Tia maybe down two Pokémon, but Heracross will definitely be able to knock this legendary Pokémon down a peg or two. She briefly analyzes her situation. The Light Screen is about to run out, Togepi's buffs are gone, but thankfully paralysis and the three Superpowers are definitely hampering Regice. "Alright Heracross start off with a Swords Dance." Tia smiles and clenches her fist as swords manifest around Heracross giving him an extra boost. "Now let's give it a Close Combat!"

"Blizzard before he can get too close!" Regice raises an arm, but freezes in place. "No!" The paralysis took affect at just the perfect moment for Tia.

"Yes!" Heracross charges forward and pummels Regice with a flurry of blows that left its defenses severely weakened, but at least Regice is finally showing signs of fatigue. "Give it another!" Tia cheers, but knows that she can only be so lucky. Weighing her options Tia knows Pryce would use a Superpower on Heracross, so Counter is useless and she can risk staying close, but range is where the real damage lies.

"Thunder!" Pryce surprises her when he drops a Thunder attack right next to Regice, the wild and unpredictable nature of the attack could have very well hit Regice too, but unfortunately Heracross suffers the full brunt of the attack before getting off a second Close Combat. "That's three down, and I imagine your Togepi isn't coming back out."

He knows her strategy with Togepi now so that would be useless and Pupitar would get demolished if she sent him out. So she has only one option left. "Go Typhlosion! This is where the real battle begins!" She says this like all the previous Pokémon were just setting the stage for Typhlosion's epic conclusion.

Pryce laughs once more, "The climax to our masterful battle!" He extends his hand once more. "Regice is not afraid of some Fire Type."

"Good thing my Typhlosion's not just _some Fire Type_." Tia snaps her fingers points to Regice. "Let's kick it off with a Fire Charge!"

Typhlosion growls and erupts in flames before launching himself towards Regice. "Dodge out of the way and hit him with a Thunder!" Regice glides across the floor making sure to give itself plenty of space from it and Typhlosion. The Thunder fires off and much to Pryce's chagrin the attack misses. "We know whose side luck is on today." It was clearly not his. Tia's reputation as Lady Luck still stands.

"Lava Plume Typhlosion!" Lava erupts from the flames on Typhlosion's back and spew all over the gym floor melting the ice completely and hampering Regice's movement. She had no intention of hitting with that attack Pryce quickly realizes. "Another Flame Charge!"

"Fine, head-to-head it is! Regice Superpower!" The two forces collide in a vicious eruption of power as they collide. "Blizzard; see if you can freeze that Typhlosion." Regice surrounds the two in a powerful Blizzard, but Typhlosion doesn't look too worried about this attack. "Lift up Regice!" Typhlosion grabs hold of Regice tightly and struggles to lift the massive Pokemon. "Come on!" Tia closes her eyes and envisions her Typhlosion she can hear his cries and feels his heart beating rapidly in rhythm with her own. She opens her eyes and lets out a might cry that rings throughout the whole gym, "Toss Regice into the lava!" Typhlosion's eyes widen as her feels empowered. With a powerful roar Typhlosion picks up Regice and throws it with all his might towards the lava.

"Regice quickly hit it with Ice Beam!" It's too late, Regice seizes up from the paralysis and falls towards into the lava. Pryce with his last ditched effort orders Regice to quickly get out of the lava and hit Typhlosion with Ice Beam.

Tia stares down Regice and points right at Pryce. "Typhlosion take down Regice with Flamethrower!" Despite the intense cold of the gym Tia is breaking out into a sweat as Typhlosion unleashes a fully powered Flamethrower to combat the Ice Beam. The two attacks desperately fight back and forth for dominance in the power struggle, but with Tia's last bit of energy pushing Typhlosion to his and her absolute limit the Flamethrower overpowers the ferocious Ice Beam and engulfs Regice is fire.

The action finally dies down. Sabrina and Silver are practically on the edge of their seats as they watch in anticipation of the final outcome of the truly breath taking battle. Regice stands before Typhlosion motionlessly before crashing onto its back. Tia has won, she defeated a legendary Pokémon.

Pryce removes his mask and smiles. He calls back Regice and slowly begins to clap. "Congratulations Tia. You have beaten me and my Regice fair and square. You, above so many others, have truly earned this badge as a sign of your immense strength and intelligence as a trainer. I haven't seen willpower like yours in many, many years. I can see why you are Chuck's star pupil." He offers her the gym badge happily and shakes her hand.

Tia grins from ear to ear. "Thank you so much Pryce, I'll never forget this battle." She runs over to her Typhlosion and embraces him. "We did it! We beat a legendary Pokémon and got our seventh badge!" She calls back her Pokémon and slowly walks over to the others.

"Tia that was amazing! You didn't even need another legendary Pokémon to do it." Sabrina is truly amazed by the trainer that stands before her. Tia is no longer the girl she battled in Saffron that day. She's not the impulsive and hyper active child that Sabrina use to think she was. Tia has transcend everyone's expectations so quickly. She knows that if she doesn't watch out Tia might surpass her someday soon.

Silver stays quiet for the most part, but smiles at her for her victory. "That was a good match." He comments definitely don't express the true nature of what she accomplished, but Tia still takes it to heart all the same.

"Thank you, Silver. Now let's go tell Tom the good news!" She runs off still full of energy and a renewed vigor.

"What does she run on? Nuclear batteries?" He knows almost anyone else would be absolutely drained after an intense match as that one.

Pryce gives a quiet, warm laugh. "She is truly a one of a kind. Surely you see it too Silver." Pryce speaks so matter-of-factly as walks off leaving the two to follow after Tia.

"Sabrina, there is something I want to ask you." Silver seems a little hesitant, but he speaks his mind anyway.

"Really, what's that?" She's definitely surprised that he's addressing her at all really.

"It's about Tia."

"Of course," she giggles and lets him continue.

"How does she do it? How does she continue to grow so strong?" It utterly baffles him. Silver himself hasn't had any issues challenging the Pokémon league, but still he can't help feel that Tia is still on an entirely different level from him.

"It's not just one thing Silver. Being an Adept isn't why she's so strong, it's not endlessly training, or pursuing some end goal. Tia has ambitions and aspirations of being the best. She may never say it, but her indomitable spirit ensues her that she will never back down from any obstacle before her." Sabrina knows the type all too well. She's grown to care for Tia as a close friend. She also sees all these traits in the one she loves the most. Tia and Tom aren't so different in the end. Tia just had a bit of a late start.

"Then once Team Rockets been defeated. I will travel the world until I'm even stronger. Then I'll get stronger from there." He looks to the sky as if he's finally found his resolve. He no longer fights for revenge, but the strength to carry on through all adversities.

Sabrina smiles, "It's amazing the profound effect one person can have on those around her isn't it?"

Silver nods and enters the Pokémon Center with Sabrina. They heads to Tom's room where Tia is proudly showing off her gym badge.

Tom is finally standing on his own, albeit with a crutch, but still of his own strength. "That's great Tia." He gives her a cool smile. "So how was that Piloswine of his?" Tom knows firsthand what a handful Pryce's truly Piloswine was. He clearly is still in the dark about her battle.

"I wouldn't know. His Regice was a beast though." She grins triumphant with a larger than life smile.

Tia stumbles back and sits on the bed. "You battled Regice?" In his whole life he would never had expected her to take on Pryce's Regice.

"Excuse you, _beat_ his Regice." She boldly corrects him.

"You beat a legendary Pokémon?" He can't believe the words even as they come out of his mouth. "You _beat _a legendary Pokémon in battle without a legendary Pokémon."

"What is there an echo in here?" She jokes.

"Sorry, it's just so surreal. _I've_ never even done that. Especially against Pryce. He's been battling with Regice longer than all of us have been alive." They can all tell he's still baffled by this realization.

"Better watch out world champ." Silver replies smugly from the door.

"No kidding," Tom takes a deep breath. "There's no other way to put it. Great job Tia. That's amazing. It really is."

"Thank you, Tom. That means a lot coming from you." Tia smiles and walks off back to her room. Silver follows suit back to his own room.

Sabrina hangs around for a bit longer. "She's incredible isn't she?" Sabrina can't help feel proud of Tia.

Tom nods happily, "Yeah, we might want to watch out."

"So you think it's only a matter of time?" Sabrina alludes to something both of them are thinking.

"Definitely," Tom nods and gets back on his feet. "Well, how's about you and I grab dinner before you have to get back to the gym."

Sabrina smiles and helps keep him steady as he stands. "I would love to." The two head out to one of Mahogany's local restaurants to enjoy some time together while they still have the chance.

All the while Tia and Silver remain in the center. Silver himself decides to check on Tia. Seeing as he was not too content with simply lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. He walks to her room and sees the door is still wide open. Inside is a very tired Tia lying on her bed pretty much asleep. She definitely burned a lot more energy than she initially let on if she was already fast asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, Silver closes her door and lets her sleep. She definitely deserved it after today. Every time he see her, he can almost see the gap growing in between them in terms of abilities. Still, he couldn't be happier for he and he wouldn't ask for any other rival.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please feel free to leave a review on the chapter, the series, or the Sagas Universe as a whole. Well this was another exciting chapter for sure. Seven badges down, Johto's starting to wind down, but there's still plenty of exciting battles to go.<p> 


	65. Chapter 63: Taking Back the Tower

Chapter 63: Taking Back the Tower

The morning comes quickly and Sabrina leaves first thing in the morning. Tom and she say their goodbyes. Meanwhile Tia is still fast asleep. Tom finds it kind of astounding, he's never seen her sleep so much. That did pose the question of what he would do for breakfast. He'll admit that Tia has spoiled him, but he'll manage. Tom steps into the center's kitchen and sees Silver of all people making breakfast.

"Silver, you cook?" Tom's definitely a little more than surprised.

"I've had to rely entirely on myself for most of my life, of course I taught myself how to cook." He looks at Tom as he eyes the food. "I'm not making it for you."

Tom slumps his head, "Come on have a heart. I can't cook with a broken arm." He demonstrates this by waving left arm in a cast. He still has a slight limp when he walks, but he doesn't need supports to walk at least.

Silver rolls his eyes, "Fine, but don't expect seconds."

The guys sit down to eat when Tia walks in stretching her arms. "Good morning all." She lets out a soft yawn. She walks over to fridge and pulls out some ingredients and prepares her own meal. She sits down beside the two while they eat in silence. "So what are you two talking about?" She decides to break the silence with a joke. Though neither seem to bite. "Don't all speak at once."

"Not much to talk about. I'm heading for the Pokémon league the second I'm done here." Silver stoically eats his food with no real interest in talking about anything else.

"Good for you, I wish you luck then." Tia cheerfully encourages him which at least warrants a brief smile.

Tom finishes his meal and gets up before the rest. "Well I'm going to get ready. This cast doesn't make dressing myself easy." He just kind of laughs it off as if it's not as big a deal as it is. This is Tom's oddly optimistic nature at work truly.

"Do you need any help?" She's more than willing to help him out given his situation.

Tom waves his hand dismissively, "Nah, it's fine. I'm a big boy. I can dress myself. At least it's only my left arm"

"I'd be screwed if I broke my left arm." Tia finishes up the last of her food and follows Tom out into the hall.

"I told you I was fine." He insists she doesn't need to assist him.

"I know, I have to get ready myself." She makes a quick b-line for her door and shuts it behind her.

Tom steps into his room and pulls out a Pokeball. Cleffa emerges and cheerfully bounces up and down on the bed. "We're getting ready to go Cleffa. So we don't have to be stuck in this stuff room anymore." He pats her on the head with a wide grin. Tom finds himself struggling to wrangle his shirt off. He wasn't happy that it took him several minutes just to change, but it at least dissuaded him from ever pulling a stunt like he did at the Rocket hideout ever again.

After about twenty minutes of getting himself ready he is finally packed and ready to go. From his bag he hears his X-Transceiver ringing. To his surprise it's Anna calling. He smiles and answers happily. "Anna how are you today?" His chipper tone doesn't seem to match her demeanor though.

"Tom, I need your help." Anna looks around urgently.

"What's going on?" His attitude turns on a dime.

"Team Rocket's taken control of the radio tower here in Goldenrod City. Turn on your radio." Tom quickly runs over to a radio where this recording is playing.

"Are you there? We are Team Rocket. After much preparation, we have risen from the ashes! Can you hear? We did it! Where is our boss?" The message repeats over and over. Tom adjusts the frequency, but it's on every station being broadcasted.

"Oh no, they're trying to draw out Giovanni." Tom's stomach sinks like a rock.

"I thought he was behind bars though?" Anna remembers reading all about how Team Rocket was defeated in Viridian City and how Giovanni was captured.

Tom grits his teeth. "They didn't want me to tell anyone, but Giovanni escaped prison some time ago. He's out there and they know it."

"Please Tom, I need you and Tia here now." She ends the call and Tom quickly runs to Tia's room.

He throws open her door, "Tia was have to get going now!" Though this bold intrusion was not such a smart idea. Similarly to his abrupt entrance in Olivine Tom find himself in a similar situation. "Oh you've got to be kidding."

Tia stands half dressed, but this time without the benefit of a towel on. She turns bright red and quickly covers her chest with her arms. "Ah! Tom, you bastard! I will break your other arm!" He shout echoes throughout the whole Pokémon Center.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this again!" He frantic tries to justify his actions.

"What's going on?" Silver runs up into Tia's room with a Pokeball drawn. This certainly wasn't the sight he was expecting. His face also turns a very vibrant red as he turns around and covers his eyes. "What's going on here?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" She turns her back to both of them. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" She shouts furiously.

Tom looks baffled and distort. "I'm sorry, but this is important."

"Get out of my room!" The two guys quickly run out of the room and slam the door behind him.

"What the hell is going on and why did you storm into room when she was changing?" Silver growls. He grabs Tom by the collar and starts shaking him vigorously.

"Team Rocket has taken over the Goldenrod radio tower." He finally manages to say what he needs to. Silver releases him and looks absolutely bewildered. "That's why we have to go now!" He urges this point as Tia steps out of her room fully dressed.

"Let's go you two." Tia walks past them both hastily and heads down the steps of the center. The guys follow her outside where she's already calling out her Skarmory. "Tom, what's the exact situation?"

He calls out his Flygon and shakes his head, "I don't know. Anna just told me that Team Rocket has taken over the radio tower and are transmitting a signal to get Giovanni's attention."

"Why? Giovanni was arrested after our battle. What reason would calling out for him service?" Tia does not yet know the full story.

"He escaped, didn't he?" Silver calls out a Honchkrow. "He certainly has a knack for running away from his problems." Silver spits at the ground before hopping on his Pokémon.

"Let's go, no screwing around. We're going in guns blazing so be ready." Tia takes the lead as she takes off.

Tom smirks, "I definitely can get behind that strategy. We should at least meet up with Anna first though." It's a sound strategy, because they have no idea what they are running into.

The three fly off at a rapid speed on route to Goldenrod City. As they approach the city the sight is much more dire that than they'd originally anticipated. Team Rocket agents are swarming every corner of the city as people are hauled up in their houses for their own protection. Anyone who tried standing up to them were quickly outnumbered and out matched. Tom could practically feel his blood boiling. Silver feels an uneasiness in the air, as does Tia. She stoically looks forward knowing the second they touch down its all-out war and Tom will see to the total annihilation of Team Rocket's forces.

"Invade my home will they?" He balls his fist and reaches for his mask. His eyes gleam with bloodlust and he flies ahead of the group in order to take the battle right to Team Rocket. "Earthquake!" Flygon soars down like a meteor and crashes with the earth creating an enormous after shock laying waste to every Pokémon around them. Tom hopes off of Flygon and runs into the thick of it. Before too long he's completely surround by grunts and their Pokémon. Houndoom and Raticate as far as the eye can see.

"It's over kid, come peacefully or we'll have to hurt you." One tougher looking grunt cracks his knuckles as walks up to Tom.

"Back off!" He shouts to the entire crowd. Intense anger and hatred are conveyed through Tom's emotions with his ability. As if out of some sort of instinct all the Pokémon around him run off defying their trainer's order. Many grunts themselves cower and run.

Silver looks stunned, "How did he do that?" Silver shakes at the sight of Tom's ability.

Tia lands with Silver and walks up to Tom. "Tom, I need you to calm down." He turns to her with a soul piercing stare as if to impose his emotions onto her as well. Tia remains call and takes off his mask to the terrifying sight of his hate filled expression. She doesn't flinch, but instead look him dead in the eyes and embraces him. "We won't win with blind fury."

Tom exhales and calms his nerves as his hatred subsides. "Thank you, now let's hurry." Tom runs off for the gym where tons of Rocket grunts surround the entrance.

"Whatever you do, don't let her out!" One of the grunts cautions. This proves to be of little help when Anna's massive titan comes bursting through the open doors and rams all the Pokémon in its way. "She got out! Run!"

Anna comes running out with Regigigas standing menacingly. "Thank you, now we need to get to the radio tower." She smiles and looks over to see the rest of the group. "Tia, Tom, Silver; I'm glad to see you."

"What happened?" Tia runs up to make sure that Anna is okay.

Anna dismisses this, "They chased me back to the gym, but once I got Regigigas out they were no trouble. I was just flushing them out of my gym." She stops to give Tia a once over. "Wow Tia, have you been working out?" She's definitely impressed by her friends toned physique.

Tia nods, "Yeah, and I heard you're Goldenrod's new gym leader. I bet that's exciting." Tia grins and quickly exchanges a hug with Anna.

"Time and a place ladies." Tom points to a large collection of grunts running towards them. In all their excitement to catch up with one another they seemed to briefly forget the dire situation at hand.

"Right, Skarmory cut through them with a Steel Wing!" Tia gets back on track and has her Skarmory tear through all the Pokémon in his way.

Anna takes a second to make note of Tom's condition. "What happened to you?" She's stunned to see him so beat up and with his broken arm.

Tom laughs nervously, "I had a bit of an accident when we fought Team Rocket in Mahogany. Your grandpa says hi by the way."

"As long as you can still battle we'll be fine." Anna's pretty convinced between the four of them that they will be able to fight off Team Rocket. Especially with all of the executives out of the picture.

Tia and Silver take to the front while Anna and Tom follow up behind making sure to protect them from possible ambushes. Meanwhile, Tia and Silver continue running through the forces trying to stop them. Team Rocket's defenses prove to do very little to the four advancing trainers however.

Tia thinks for a moment and looks back to Tom, "Tom what are the odds Cipher will try and show up again?"

He shakes his head, "Given what told me about how they were trying to take the red Gyarados. I highly doubt they are working together anymore." He has to shout above all the chaos around them as their assault continues forward all the way to the radio tower.

More and more grunts come running out of the tower catching wind of what's happening outside and call out their best Pokémon. A huge number of Pokémon including Houndoom, Raticate, and Arbok come charging towards the four trainers.

"Go on ahead, I'll handle these chumps." Tom willing provides a diversion so Tia and the others can force their way through.

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Anna is a little worried about Tom's condition.

"Hey, I'm not world champion because of my good looks." He can still joke despite the severity of the situation. "Besides, these guys are barely a challenge."

"I trust you, Tom. Though, you pull another stunt like you did at the hideout and I will never forgive you." Tia is definitely very seriously, but she knows he wouldn't try another ridiculous stunt like that again. She leads the pack and runs to the side of the cluster of Pokémon while Tom draws their attention with his Flygon.

Tia fights through a few stray grunts and their rather weak Pokémon. Anna and her Regigigas are also a pretty good deterrent as well. The three storm inside to find all the receptionists and radio hosts have been tied up and gagged by Team Rocket.

Tia and Silver quickly start untying them. "Thank you, but there are more captives up stairs and under the radio tower."

Anna runs over. "You're saying people are tied up in the tunnel and basement too?" The shaken woman just nods silently. "Tia, Silver, I'm sorry but you two will have to handle this on your own. I have to rescue the people down below."

Silver nods, "Go, we can handle this mess." He calls back his Honchkrow and calls out his Scizor to fight by his side. Tia does the same by calling back Skarmory in exchange for Pupitar. He looks to Tia. "You ready?"

She cracks her knuckles and nods, "I was born ready." The two takeoff up stairs while Anna exits the radio tower. Upon entering the second floor Tia sees how serious the situation had escalated. Grunts cover the floor and all the MCs, including Professor Oak have been tied up. "Professor!" Tia quickly runs towards him and through the crowd of Rocket agents.

"Tia be careful!" She's quickly swarmed by Pokémon, but her trusted Pupitar is able to fend off a good number of them while she works to untie his ropes.

"Scizor help cover Tia!" Silver points forward as Scizor wastes no time hoping in to the fray. They time together was short, but Scizor still happily defends his former trainer. With a fury of X-Scissor attacks most of the Pokémon are taken down with ease.

Tia finally undoes the ropes around Prof. Oak. "Thank you, Tia. I was beginning to wonder if someone was going to come help." He stands up and looks at all the grunts. "It's not very polite to capture all these innocent civilians. Would you two like to help me teach these men a lesson?" Prof. Oak asks the two kindly as he pulls out a Pokeball. "I may not be as young as I used to, but I still have some fight in me. Come on out Tauros."

"Pupitar use Dark Pulse!"

"X-Scissor Scizor!"

"Tauros give them a Giga Impact."

The coordinated assault of the three attacks level the playing field quite easily for them as they clear out the floor of all the Team Rocket grunts. Unfortunately, there are still plenty more floors to cover before they reach the top.

Anna makes her way into the tunnels under that city and calls back her Pokémon. She wants to make her way into the radio tower basement as quietly as possible. She's not worried she couldn't handle them, but she'd rather not cause a lot of collateral damage. She notices a few grunts rotating in and out of watch over a bunch of captives.

Anna snaps her fingers and gets a great idea. Thankfully she'd kept some of the gym Pokémon she was training on her. She calls out a Jigglypuff silently and motions to the door. Jigglypuff nods excitedly and skips through the door.

She walks up to the guard and starts bouncing up and down. "Huh, whose Jigglypuff is this?" Jigglypuff does what she does best and starts singing a soothing serenade which slowly lulls the guard to sleep.

Anna tiptoes in a moment later once he's asleep and starts to untie the civilians who were unfortunate enough to get caught up in Team Rocket's evil web. "Thank you so much." A woman thanks Anna profusely.

"Don't worry about it." She smiles and helps the other captives get untied.

She speaks up again, "I don't know who, but they captured someone else and locked them up in that room over there." She points out a steel, reinforced room with a lock on it.

"I'll check it out. Everyone else get to safety." She quietly instructs them to exit the room which Anna checks the grunt's person for a key. Low and behold he has it. For added measure she quickly ties up the grunt and gags him so he won't cry for help. She'll let the authorities deal with him later.

Inside is a dark room sits someone tied to a chair blindfolded and gaged. She flips on a light and immediately recognizes the hostage. "Whitney!" She runs to her friend and ungags her.

"Anna is that you. Oh thank god." She sounds relieved to hear her friend's voice again. "It was terrible. I found out what Team Rocket was up to and they captured me. I tried to fight them off, but they overpowered me."

"It's alright, you're safe now." She undoes Whitney's blindfold and unties her from the chair. Whitney immediately wraps her arms around Anna and slumps down on her knees while Anna sits before her. She gently strokes Whitney's hair. "It's alright, everything is going to be alright." Anna can hope that Silver and Tia resolve this situation quickly.

"Well, I think you two handled that quite well." Prof. Oak looks at all the fallen Pokémon and grunts with a casual grin. "I really can't thank you enough. Who knows what I would have done if you two hadn't shown up."

Tia just waves her hand, "No need to thank us Professor."

He nods, "Still I have something I've been meaning to give you, Tia." Prof. Oak gets on the ground and pulls out a small brief case from under the desk and unlocks it. "Team Rocket really wanted to get their hands on it, but I trust you with it."

He hands her a Pokeball, but this isn't any ordinary Pokeball. This one is purple and sports a small M on it. Tia immediately recognizes this. "Professor this is a Master Ball! I can't accept this." Despite not being the most well versed trainer even Tia knows what a Master Ball is and how incredibly rare they are.

"I insist Tia." He looks over at Silver. "I'm sorry I do not have one for you too Silver, but I can make it up to you somehow I'm sure."

"No need, let's just head up stairs and finally take down whoever is in charge of this whole operation." Silver and Tia make a dash for the top while Oak stays behind and wishes them good luck. He knows they can handle themselves. Besides, this was not his battle.

On the top floor is an open dome of glass that has a compete view of the whole city. "It's a beautiful sight isn't it? Team Rocket soon will be the thriving power it once was when our glorious leader returns." He turns and faces the two revealing his identity.

"You're the man who founded the radio tower. Why are you working for Team Rocket?" Tia for some reason still can't shake the feeling she knows this man.

"Oh? Do you not recognize me? Doesn't the Ilex Forest remind you of anything?" He sneers at Tia with disgust.

"Petrel! What happened to you?" She can definitely recognize him now, but he's aged significantly since the last encounter.

"Thanks to you and that damn Celebi. My grunts and I had to take the long way home. That's fine though, because it gave me a lot of time to think and plot my revenge. Though I had to change my identity and do my best to avoid creating some sort of time paradox. That worry is the only reason I didn't hunt any of you down when you were defenseless babies." Petrel is all too happy to see his master plan is coming to fruition.

"You're really that obsessed with revenge and Team Rocket's malicious goals you'd devote most of your life to it?" Tia is definitely sure that Petrel's ambitions are misplaced. "I hate to crush your dreams, but this will be the final act of Team Rocket."

Silver stands firmly, "We'll put the final nail in the coffin right here and now."

"That's rich, but I've planned for everything. Go Weezing!" He reaches for his belt and calls out six Weezing. He puts on a gas mask. "Smoke them out!" On his command all the let out a huge plume of Smokescreens.

The two cover their mouths, but the smoke is overwhelming. Silver calls back his Scizor for Honchkrow once more. "Blow this smoke away!"

"While he's take care of the smoke give them a Sludge attack." Petrel takes advantage of the distraction and has the six all spray Sludge on Tia and Silver's Pokémon. Honchkrow doesn't take it too well, but Pupitar doesn't have much trouble enduring it.

"Pupitar return. Come on out Togepi!" In a surprise switch Tia turns to her baby Pokémon. "Set up a Light Screen." It may not be much, but it will help absorb some of the hits at least. "Now give them an Extrasensory!"

One of the Weezing is subjected to a powerful wave of psychic energy and knocks the Pokémon back. "Nice try. Now more Sludge!"

"Togepi, stay focused on just one of them and hit it with Ancient Power!" Togepi aims for the same Weezing that she assailed before and hits it with a large onslaught of rocks. Unfortunately Tia is not lucky enough to get the stat increases off of it however. Togepi does manage to take out one of them. "Perfect!" Togepi begins cheering in the midst of battle and begins glowing. "No way, Togepi is evolving!" Tia is filled with excitement as her Togepi glows. Her form becomes thinner and taller and begins floating in the air. Togepi has evolved into Togetic. "Another Ancient Power!"

"Oh no you don't. Explosion!" Togetic locks onto a target and attacks, but the same Weezing runs up and explodes in Togetic's face.

"We're not going down that easily!" Tia knows that Explosion will take down almost all of Togetic's health, but Tia is determined to win. The blast of energy recoils in every direction. When the smoke clears Togetic is barely standing. Still able to get off one last move. "Quickly Togetic use Baton Pass!" Togetic retreats and quickly swaps back to Pupitar is now feeling more energized than before.

"This could be bad. More Sludge everyone!" His own Pokémon took quite a beating from the explosion too.

"Dark Pulse Pupitar!" Tia's not afraid of her Pupitar taking a few hits from Sludge.

"Honchkrow use Foul Play." Silver is busy handling a couple Weezing on his own, but takes one down finally. Honchkrow caws and glows slightly. Moxie kicks in and gives Honchkrow more power. All the while Dark Pulse unleashes a wave of dark energy towards the Weezing and sends them flying back away.

"Nice Honchkrow Silver." Tia compliments Silver's powerful Pokémon after that display. Honchkrow herself seems a little flattered by the praise.

Silver nods, "Your Pupitar's a pretty stronger Pokémon too. He'll be a fierce Tyranitar when he evolves."

"Sing all the praise you want. It won't matter when I beat you both. I still have three more Weezing. So let's go out with a bang. Weezing use Explosion!" One of the Weezing flies forward with its sights set of Pupitar.

"Honchkrow knock it back with a Wing Attack!" Weezing comes careening towards Pupitar, but Honchkrow's speed outmatches Weezing and sends it hurling back towards one of the other Weezing. It explodes on contact taking out two of Petrel's Pokémon at once.

"What was that you were saying about three Pokémon left?" Tia stands triumphantly. "Thank you, Silver. Now I'll take this one. Rock Slide!" Rocks manifest above Weezing and come crashing down burying the Pokémon completely into submission.

"No this can't be happening! My whole life has been for this moment! Team Rocket is the absolute power! Team Rocket will rule this world!" The elderly Petrel collapses to his knees and punches the ground. "I have one last contingency." He reaches for his pocket and pulls out a remote. "One press and this entire radio tower will go down with you two in it!" He laughs like a mad man.

"You're insane, that'll kill us all!" Tia begins to step forward, but Petrel threateningly waves the remote.

"One false step and we'll all be buried in rubble. I have nothing left to live for so I don't mind a noble sacrifice for the betterment of Team Rocket." Petrel has come completely unhinged. He is ready to throw away his own life just to stop Tia and Silver.

"Enough!" A voice echoes from the stairs. A voice that causes Petrel to stand frozen. "It's over Petrel." The voice is of a man in a brown trench coat with a matching hat.

He takes off the hat and reveals his identity. "Giovanni!" He's over joyed to see his leader once more. "Now that you're here you can help destroy these brats!"

Giovanni looks to Tia and Silver, "I cannot beat that girl. What's more there is no more Team Rocket." His stoic voice is unwavering in his decree.

"What do you mean?" Petrel cannot believe what he's hearing. Years of his life, an entire lifetime has been devoted to the success of Team Rocket and just like that the slate is being wiped.

"Gio!" Tom's voice soon follows from below as he runs up the stairs.

"Tom, I'm sorry I made you chase me up here, but this is important. I've come to put an end to this once and for all." He looks down and balls his fist. "I also want to apologize for all the wrongs I've committed."

"What makes you think we'd ever forgive you?" Tom's voice is full of hatred. He remembers all the agony Giovanni caused and how he betrayed Tom. He respected Giovanni, but now he is disgusted by him.

"I said I'm here to apologize. I in way expect forgiveness in return." He first looks to Tom. "What I did to Sabrina and the other gym leaders was me exploiting good people for my own selfish desires." He next looks to Tia. "I can't even begin to express how awful my crimes were. Especially what I tried to do to you."

Tia steps forward and looks Giovanni right in the eyes. "I don't care what you tried to do to me. What you did to Tom and Sabrina was horrible, but what you did to your own son is unforgivable!"

Giovanni is taken aback by this. "How did you-" he looks to Silver as his eyes widen. "My god, Silver. Is that you?" He looks at him like he's a ghost of his past. Silver nods, "My… son." Tears begin to fall from Giovanni's eyes and stream down his cheeks.

"I'm not your son. You lost that right when you abandoned mom and me." Silver shows no sympathy towards his father.

Giovanni looks as if his heart has been torn in half. "You're right. Your mother was very ill and it scared me. I was a coward who ran away from the one's he loved just to spare myself the pain of losing her."

Silver wants to hate Giovanni, he has every right to hate Giovanni, but somehow he can't. "What kind of man runs from something like that?" Silver shouts and runs up to Giovanni. He grabs him by the collar and glares into his eyes. "You left me all alone. I was orphaned and forced to survive all by myself!"

"This is a pain I've carried all these years. I'm happy to see you've grown to be such a strong trainer. As well as a better person than your father. You can hate me all you want. I know I'll never earn your love. Not after the crimes I've committed." Giovanni accepts his fate gracefully, but wishes still that he could redeem himself in his son's eyes.

"I…I can't." Tears begin to well up in Silver's eyes. "I can't bring myself to hate you. Mother's last words were, don't hate your father." He loosens his grip and begins to cry into his father's chest.

Giovanni is equally as shocked. "She was always the most amazing woman, your mother. Her ability to love was unmatched."

Silver nods, "I learned what love is from her, but she's not the one who helped me understand it." Silver briefly looks back to Tia.

Giovanni notices this. "Of all the people." He chuckles lightly. "All I wanted was revenge until I heard about the rebirth of Team Rocket. I travelled the world and gained clarity thanks to you, Tia. Now, I've come to discover you were the one to love my son when I couldn't. It must be fate that we met, that you beat me that day, and that you would be one of the keys in Team Rocket's defeat." Giovanni pats Silver on the shoulders. Silver looks up and meets Giovanni's stare. "If there is any way you can forgive me. I would be my honor for you to come explore this world with me. My son."

Silver wipes way the tears. "I guess someone has to keep you on the straight and narrow dad." Silver gives off a faint laugh. He pulls away and looks back to Tia. He walks up to her and slowly embraces her. "I can't thank you enough. I can't say I still fully understand what I'm feeling, but there is one thing I do know. I love you, Tia." He gives her a tender kiss.

"I love you too Silver. Someday, maybe when you've sorted out your emotions you and I can really try this." Silver's had quite an epiphany and she knows this will take time. So she understands.

He lets her go and takes a step back. "I'll be waiting for you on Victory Road. Then we'll find out who's strongest." He smiles and turns back to Giovanni. "Let's go dad."

Giovanni nods and walks up to Tia. "I look forward to seeing you becoming one of the strongest trainers around Tia. I'll continue to become stronger, but this time for those I care about. Then someday I hope you will forgive me." Giovanni continues walking towards the stairs before pausing once more. "I'm sorry I disappointed you, Tom. I can't expect you to forgive me, but I will try to redeem myself in your eyes as well."

Tom knows every word Giovanni spoke was from the heart. He does want to forgive him, but then he remembers all the destruction Team Rocket's caused. As well as the personal attacks. "Someday," he speaks quietly without giving Giovanni a second glance.

Giovanni and Silver walks off down the stairs. Tia and Tom both take a moment to assess the situation. Tia remembers Petrel still has the detonator and wasn't afraid to use it. He toss it to the ground and crushes it. "It's all over. My life's work. All amounted to nothing!" His spirits shattered Petrel raises his hands in defeat. "I surrender. Proton, Ariana, and Archer have all been taken into custody. The grunts are all scrambled and beaten. Plus, Team Cipher has made us their public enemy number one. It's all over. Team Rocket is now and forever disbanded." With Petrel's last sorrowful declaration the organization of Team Rocket has finally been disbanded and dismantled fully.

Thanks to Tia, Silver, Tom, Anna, and every brave trainer who's dared to oppose Team Rocket. Their courage, strength, and willpower won the day. It seems on this day the world has become a little more peaceful.

Though how long will it last?

Sometime later in the shifting sands of Orre. In a large underground facility two trainers in particular hear word about Team Rocket's disbandment. A young man reads an article on a small holographic screen. "Interesting, looks like Team Rocket's finally bit the dust." His grin is malicious.

He lies on a bed with a woman right beside him. "Looks like those kids finally did it." She rests against his arm and reads the article. "Pokémon trainer Tia of Pallet Town and Pokémon League World Champion Tom of Goldenrod? So that's their names?" This is definitely valuable intelligence for her. "What do you think this means for us Ryoko?"

Ryoko simply shrugs, "For the time being I'm not too worried. They have no business in Orre, though there are others who should probably watch out for these two."

"Should we warn Archie or Maxie?" She ponders this with only half seriousness.

"Now where's the fun in that Haruka?" He laughs and puts the device down. "This means one less obstacle for Cipher. Potentially more."

"So we let them do our dirty work for us, while we operate from the shadows?" Haruka's calculated nature makes her an excellent strategist.

"I couldn't agree more. Now we wait." The two lie peacefully in the night. Both Haruka and Ryoko know what Tia and Tom are capable of, but even those two combined couldn't invade Orre and stop Cipher or so they hope.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Boy was this a long one, I am quite pleased with how that final battle went. Especially the reveal. I'd love to see if anyone actually guessed who that old man was. Johto is slowly, but surely winding down now.<p> 


	66. Chapter 64: Ice Cave

Chapter 64: A Brand New Day

After a long day of basically none stop interviews and police reports Tia was more than ready for bed. After the fall of Team Rocket recovery efforts began immediately the next day. Tia, Tom, and Anna were instantly swept up in all chaos of repairing and cleaning up the city. They spent the entire next day helping however they could and still found there was a lot of work to be done. It's been two days since they'd initially arrived at Goldenrod and things are finally beginning to settle down.

Tia began her morning the same way she always would. Her morning rituals of meditating, eating, and getting herself cleaned up. By the time she was done Tom himself was already out the door and assisting with the repairing efforts. Tia was happy to see how proactive Tom was about helping restore the beauty of his hometown. Tia had different plans for the day though. She'd promised to help Anna work on the gym and getting it back in working condition. So she made sure to be up bright and early so the two could get to work as fast as they could.

Tia sweeps up broken bits of scaffolding from the floor and bits of debris from broken chucks of flooring. After a couple hours of cleaning and tidying up the gym she stops to wipe the sweat from her forehead and leans against the broom. "Man, Team Rocket really did a number on this place." She looks around to all the cleaning they still had to do.

Anna sighs and follows suit, "No kidding, doesn't help the gym was still under maintenance when this all happened." She frowns and looks at the sad state her gym is in. Anna hopes to get it into working condition as fast as possible and worry about the aesthetics later.

"By the way, since we learned what really happened to Whitney doesn't that mean the gym is still hers?" Many people initially thought Whitney had just abandoned the gym, which earned a lot of profuse apologies from the various Johto League members.

Anna shakes her head, "In light of everything that has happened Whitney decided to step down and travel the world. She said that being a gym leader is nice, but it's not her true calling. So title of gym leader has now been officially passed onto me. Tom said he'd be by later with the forms." She's nervous now that the position is written in stone, but Anna is also very excited to become Goldenrod City's official gym leader. It's a title she'll wear with honor.

"Well once I beat the league I'll be sure to come visit you." Tia gives Anna a thumbs up and continues sweeping up more of the debris around her.

"Thanks Tia, I look forward to it. When do you think you'll be heading to Blackthorn City though? I mean between fighting off Team Rocket the other day, getting bombard by press yesterday, and helping out today; I'm amazed you're not chomping at the bit to get out of here." Anna chuckles, but has definitely noticed a change in her friend other than just her appearance.

Tia shrugs, "Chuck helped me become a lot more patient I guess." The old Tia would have been sure to be on the road again, but with all the sidetracking she's already had to deal with it almost seems par for the course. She has spent a lot more time here in Johto taking on the league than she did in Kanto. Though, Johto as a whole is a lot bigger than Kanto is.

The two continue the menial tasks of cleaning the gym for a couple more hours. Aside from the sweeping, the removing of debris, and in general sorting the gym it wasn't so bad for the two. Tia and Anna happily talked the whole time about their lives to this point and what brought them to where they are now.

"So did you ever imagine being a gym leader?" Tia had to know since for all she knew Anna never really had a set goal other than being a breeder.

Anna shakes her head, "I mean my grandpa, dad, and sister are all leaders. Well, my dad retired and gave the gym to my sister." Ironically Pryce himself has been a gym leader for decades and has no desire to retire anytime soon. "I never knew what I wanted until I read Tom's expose of breeding. I still want to help Haru and Gale with the Daycare, but the gym definitely takes priority."

While two talk the door slides open and a surprise visitor walks in. "Hey Anna, I came as soon as I could. The gym was a bit busy the other day." A tall blonde in a purple scarf walks in much to Tia's surprise.

"Morty?" Tia's a bit lost for words.

Anna gives him a warm smile. "Hello Morty, it's fine. Nothing we couldn't handle." She dismisses this as to no worry him. "Sorry if you were worried."

"So you two know each other?" Tia is still a bit confused by their casual conversations.

Morty nods, "We met when she took over as gym leader. I thought I'd help show her the ropes." He's acting rather cordial and polite. "It's nice to see you again Tia."

"Same here," she doesn't get it. No inappropriate comments or sweeping glances of her body. He's acting like a gentleman.

"So how is the gym doing?" Anna changes the topic casually. "If it's anything like me then you must be pretty busy." Anna giggles and pulls up a chair to sit down and relax.

Morty and Tia follow suit. "Oh yeah, so many trainers. A few of them definitely earned their badges, but there were a handful of pretty inexperienced trainers too."

"They can't all be a good as me, I guess." Tia jokes, but not trying to come off as bragging too much.

"So humble too." Morty smirks and gives a faint laugh. "Though, no one has tried taking on Darkrai recently so you got that on them."

Anna surprised to hear this. "Tia, you fought Darkrai? Also, you have Darkrai, Morty!" Anna wasn't privy to any of this information.

He quickly covers his mouth, "Crap, now I'm the loud mouth."

Tia giggles, "It's fine, Anna over here has Regigigas so it's not that big of a secret."

"You have Regigigas! We're all learning something new today." Morty gives a far less restraint laugh.

"Yeah, no kidding." Anna laughs herself and stands up. She stretches and turns on the ball of her heel. "I'll go grab us drinks. I'm sure you're just as thirsty as I am Tia."

"That'd be great." Tia smiles and waits for Anna to walk off. "Okay Morty what's your angle?" Tia starts throwing accusations in a hushed tone.

He immediately gets defensive. "What do you mean?" He throws up his hands innocently. "I'm not scheming anything here."

"Then why haven't you made any inappropriate remarks yet?" Tia knows him all too well. "You've been acting like a gentleman this whole time."

"I'm sorry?" He doesn't quite know what to make of this situation. "I can act like an adult too Tia."

"You're just like Tom. So why are you all of a sudden acting like a stand-up guy?" Tia's comparison definitely strikes a chord with Morty.

"Hey I resent that statement!" He leans in and whispers. "If that's what you want then fine. Hey Tia, nice rack." He scowls. She just as quickly smacks him across the face. "What was that for?" He nurses his sore cheek as the two whisper back and forth with one another.

"It's because you are a total perv!" She glares at him with her hand still raised.

"That's what you wanted!" Morty pulls at his hair. "I can't win with you can I?"

"Why are you acting this way around her?" Tia seems more concerned with why Morty's putting on this guise around Anna.

He finally cracks, "Maybe it's because I think she's cute and want her to like me?" This realization kind of shocks Tia. "There ya happy now?" He crosses his arms and turns up his noses up to Tia.

Tia blushes, "I guess I never thought about that." She certainly feels a bit foolish after that whole debacle. "So you like Anna?"

Morty blushes and fidgets with his scarf. "I mean, she's cute and all. I don't know her too well yet, but I want to get to know her better."

Tia smiles and decides to help his cause. Mostly because Tia knows Anna's never had much luck with guys in the past. "Don't be afraid to be yourself then." Even though Tia knows what that entails.

"I am being myself!" He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, the whole flirty guy thing is just an act." He sighs, "Truth is, I'm not as confident as I like to lead on. At least not with women. Pokémon are so much easier to understand and relate to. Women have never been my strong suit." It takes a lot of courage to admit that. "That's why I often say things that result in me inserting my foot in my mouth."

Tia nods, "You do have a tendency to do that." Tia thinks of some way to help, but remembers a different point. "Oh met I your dad."

Morty raises a brow, "Oh yeah? Sabrina said he was helping her in Saffron. I can't say him and I that much alike."

"Sabrina said you were always closest with your mom." Tia's comment takes Morty off guard. "I think it's sweet." She gives him a soft smile and tugs lightly at his scarf.

Morty smiles calmly and nestles scarf against his cheek. "Thanks, sorry if I was a pain when we first met."

Tia just brushes it off, "Hey no big deal. You forget I travel with Tom all the time." The two share a laugh as Anna comes back.

"Sorry I took so long, I scrounged through the fridge, but all I've got right now is cans of lemonade." She offers the two drinks and sits back down. "What were you two talking about?"

Morty is at a loss for words and isn't very good at coming up with lies on the spot.

"I was saying that when I get stronger I'll challenge him and Darkrai to a rematch." Tia's recovery is a lot smoother.

Morty plays along, "Yeah, I told her it'd love to battle again. I'd also love a chance to battle you and Regigigas, Anna."

"Too bad your Dark Void, Nightmare combo wouldn't do anything to it." Tia knows Morty's strategy and has thought of ways to get past it.

"Oh like what I did to your Venasaur?" Morty gives Tia a smug, superior grin.

"Yeah, yeah. You got lucky." She jokes back. "Anna's a way better trainer than me. She and Regigigas beat Rayquaza." Tia gladly boosts her friend's reputation.

"Tia don't tell him that. It's not that big of a deal. Besides Heatran did most of the work." Anna tries to be humble about her rather remarkable win.

"No way, you beat Rayquaza? That's amazing!" Morty's eyes light up. He knows first had Tom and Rayquaza are nigh unstoppable. "Volkner was there too?" Morty seems to know quite a bit about the different trainers with legendary Pokémon.

Anna blushes, "You think so?"

Before the conversation can continue the doors slide open once more. "I'm back ladies," Tom walks in with a wide grin and a Dratini sitting on his shoulders. "I helped them clean up the Game Corner. They were so grateful they gave me this Dratini as a gift." Tom scratches under Dratini's chin with a wide, toothy grin. He then sees their guest. "Morty? What are you doing here?"

"Finally got your Dratini huh? I just stopped by to check up on the city. I heard all about it and wanted make sure Anna was alright." Morty acts surprisingly polite towards Tom. He then addresses a more concerning issue. "What happened to your arm man?"

Tom shrugs, "I had a little falling out with Team Rocket. No big deal." At this point Tom notices something. He senses something odd about Morty. "That's nice of you to check up on the city." Tom looks a little suspicious. "Hey Tia, I wanted to ask you about what we're going to be doing for the rest of the day." He motions her over and out of ear shot.

"What's up?" Tia doesn't quite understand why this conversation has to be kept on the down low.

"Does Morty-" Tom begins to ask.

"Yes." Tia quickly answers the obvious question.

"Does she-"

"No."

"I think she-"

"Really?"

"Does he-"

"No. So neither-"

"Doesn't look like it."

"Should we?"

"No. They should figure it out for themselves."

"You're right."

"Good talk." Tom pats Tia on back and walks back over to them.

Tia stops for a second to think about their conversation. They were surprisingly on the same page and just naturally completed each other's thoughts. Tia's surprised that Tom picking up vibes that Anna liked Morty, but she keeps that to herself.

The two rejoin Anna and Morty whom seem to be having their own conversation. The two are laughing and having a good time. "That's too funny Morty." Anna tries her hardest to restrain her laughs.

"That's nothing. So Falkner and I get the cake for Jasmine's birthday and then all of sudden her comes Whitney. Boom! Head first right into the cake." The two laugh even harder.

"Oh god, all that hard work." Anna laughs so hard she has to wipe tears from her eyes.

Tia smiles, she thinks the two will be just fine. Though it's probably all Tom can do not to intervene. "Well, we should be going now." Tia politely excuses herself.

Anna quickly gets up, "Alright, it was great seeing you again. Despite the circumstances." The two share a hug and she does the same with Tom.

"Like I said, when I beat the league I'll be sure to visit. We can have a girls' day out." The two giggle and wave good bye. Tia even gives Morty a pleasant hand shake goodbye. "I look forward to that rematch."

"Likewise," Morty leaves it at that and smiles smugly.

Tom produces some forms, "Here's the paperwork. Just fill it out and mail it off to the Indigo League's office on Victory Road."

Anna takes the papers. "There's definitely a lot of things to fill out. Good thing I dug up Whitney's copy of the rulebook."

Morty looks over it, "It's not too bad, I can help fill it out if you want me to."

Anna smiles, "I'd appreciate it, but don't you have to be back at your gym?" Anna now knows the importance of always being around the gym just in case.

"Well in light of the Team Rocket situation the Pokémon League is currently deal with that so gym battles are seldom and mostly delayed for the past couple days." With such a large scale assault the league had to step in on several fronts for security purposes.

"We'll leave you kids alone then." Tom jokes and starts walking off.

"Kids? You're the youngest one here?" Tia points out the obvious and harsh reality.

"They don't have to know that." Tom's weak excuse is instantly filled with holes.

"We all know. It's an obvious fact." Morty's definitely more than happy to rub Tom's nose in this fact as well.

"I can't hear you!" He covers his ears and runs out the door. Tia follows behind, but not before stopping to wave goodbye.

"So what's the best way to Blackthorn City?" Tia pulls out a map and looks over possible routes to her final gym battle.

"Well, we could just fly to it to save some time." It's the most practical approach in Tom's mind at least.

Tia disagrees, "I want to travel the old fashion way. It's still an adventure after all." She smiles and closely examines the routes. "Is there a route from Mahogany to Blackthorn?"

"Yeah, the Ice Cave leads right out into Blackthorn. That's the quickest route." This doesn't quite sit well with Tia though.

"So flying it is." She laughs nervously as she attempts to play it cool.

"You still on that whole, 'nothing good ever happens in caves' thing?" Tom is beginning to think this is a ridiculous phobia she's developed. "You know what? Cave of Ice it is. I'll prove once and for all that caves are not something to be afraid of." He calls out his Flygon.

"I refuse," She stands her ground and crosses her arms.

Tom pinches the bridge of his nose. "Fine, you forced my hand." He motions to Flygon who nods and walks over to Tia. Tom hops on his trusty Pokemon's back as Flygon quickly wraps his tail around Tia. "There we go."

"Put me down you jerk! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" She bangs her fists against Flygon's tail while she flails her legs.

Flygon takes off before letting Tia down so she can readjust on Flygon's back. "You're worrying about nothing."

Tia punches his good arm, "You do that again and I'll break your other arm!" Tia tries the throttle Tom as he tries to hold back her arms. She seems to be winning this battle of strength though. "I swear I will kill you!"

"Seriously, you hit like a truck." Tom is slowly starting to realize Tia's probably stronger than he is. "Nothing will happen I swear."

"You don't know that." Tia argues knowing she's had very poor luck with caves in the past. "We could have another cave in and you could break your other arm or something." Her worries and paranoia are definitely not misplaced.

"I won't break my other arm." Tom rolls his eyes.

"You want a bet?" Tia cracks her knuckles.

"I'm not sure I like this new you anymore. Can't you go back to being loud and energetic? You know when you didn't channel all your energy into aggressive things." For his own sake he hopes she would, but that's not happening.

"Too bad, I want to be the best trainer I can." Her claim is bold so Tom can at least appreciate that.

"Then you're out to prove yourself and overcome every obstacle in your way?" He has a feeling that she'll bite.

"Absolutely!" She says with an ironclad resolve.

"Perfect, Ica Cave it is." He tricked her, but it was pretty obvious. He's honestly more surprised it worked.

"I hate you." Tia pouts and quietly sits behind him the rest of the way.

The two finally land back in Mahogany Town right in front of the entry to Ice Cave. Tom calls back his Flygon and make sure Tia's the first one to step into the cave so she doesn't try to run. Their immediately immersed in the shimmering glow of the crystalized ice that shone radiantly in the cave.

Tia wraps her hands around herself and shivers. "It's freezing in here." Not two seconds in and she's already complaining.

"Of course it is, it's the Ice Cave. It's practically in the name." Tom quickly pulls out a coat from his backpack that he had in case of cold climate. "Do you not have a coat?"

Tia blushes and shakes her head, "I thought that this time of year the weather would be fine." Tom simply pinches the bridge of his nose and hands her his coat without a word. "No it's fine I'll just keep moving that will keep me warm." Tia takes her lumps and starts power walking through the frozen cave.

"Careful the floor's-" suddenly Tia slides forward with a loud cry, "slippery." He cringes as she slides forward and runs into an icicle stalagmite.

Tia notices natural occurring stalagmites all over the floor in what seems like a pattern almost. Under her feet is nothing by a sheet of ice with no traction what so ever. "Is this a freaking ice puzzle?"

Tom slides forward casually. "You got it, it's not too hard to figure out the pattern though." Tom follows a path straight to the end with ease.

Tia takes a second to examine all her options and pushes off one stalagmite to another. "This isn't so bad I guess." She actually starting to enjoy herself.

"There you go, now you're getting the hang of it." She slides up next to him as he gives her a high five. "You go girl." The two pause with an awkward silences. "I won't say that again."

Tia nods, "Yeah." The cave is pretty straight forwards they approach the next, larger ice puzzle. "So Tom, I've only really seen you battle trainers and Pokémon much weaker than you. So I was wondering exactly what kind of trainer are you?"

Tom stops to think for a second as he slides across the ice. "Yeah you're right. Other than the battle against Mewtwo. Well I prefer hitting hard and fast. A good defense is a good offense I always say. Can't hit what you can't catch. Plus, if I weaken them from the start they'll be force to play catch up the rest of the match."

Tia nods, "That's a good strategy. Definitely sounds like you."

"You should probably worry more about Clair and the Elite Four before you think about taking on the champion." He sees right through her questioning.

"Still good to know. I have to have some kind of strategy if I want to beat you." This new found confidence takes Tom by surprise.

"Excuse you? You, beat me? In a Pokémon battle?" Tom starts laughs hysterically. "That's a good one. You beating me." He wipes a tear from his eye.

Tia pouts and steps on his foot. "Who says I couldn't beat you?"

Tom jumps up and nurses his bruised foot. "Okay, I'm gonna go with ow." He grits his teeth while he rubs his foot. "Second, Tia, I'm sorry, but you're not nearly strong enough yet."

"Says who?" She stomps on his foot again.

"Seriously, why with the pain?" He's really not liking the more aggressive Tia now. "Anyway, says the world champion. You're good Tia. I'd say better than most, but still you're light years away from being able to beat me." He slides off before she can hit him again.

"That's a measure of distance you idiot!" Tia gives chase. The two slide across the ice yelling back and forth. "Name one Pokémon on your team. I'm sure I could beat it."

Tom scowls, "Arcanine." He knows the weight his Arcanine's name carries. "Beside him stood my Blastoise, Gengar, Dodrio, Electrode, and Kangaskhan. Six of the strongest and most loyal Pokémon I've ever had the pleasure of fighting beside. Gary couldn't even beat one of my Pokémon."

Tia frowns and nods, "I'm sorry, you're right. I can't expect battling you to be easy. It'll probably be the hardest battle of my life. I don't even know if I'll win. Still if you think for a second that's going to discourage me then you're dead wrong." Tia knows full well that it may not even be possible at this point in time, but she will still battle with everything she's got.

Tom nods stoically, "Then I look forward to it, because if there's anyone I want a good match against it's you." He cracks a smile and keeps walking.

Tia slides across another patch of ice and finds a disk on the ground. "Hey look at that someone just left the TM for Rest lying here on the ground."

Tom is isolated in his own segment of the puzzle. "Cool, I'll trade you. I found TM72." He waves it in the air for Tia to see.

She shakes her head, "Why would I need Avalanche?"

"Tyranitar can learn it." Tom informs Tia as he slides towards her.

"Really? Awesome, sure I'll take it." The two exchange TMs and continue on. "Wait you don't have Rest?"

"It's not a move I use very often on my teams. It comes in handy. Now I just need to plant a bunch of Chesto Berries." He's already hard at work formulating a strategy in mind.

Tia walks ahead and notices a light shining down a long tunnel in the cave. "Hey Tom, I think we've reached the end!"

He looks ahead, "Yeah looks like it." The two pick up the pace as they close in on the exit.

"Thank god, I was freezing in here." Tia runs as fast as she can.

"See you were worried about nothing. Everything was fine." As he says this a low rumble echoes through the cave and a stalactite comes crashing down right in front of them.

Tia stands petrified. "Tom…"

"Yeah?" He's a bit shaken too.

"I think I'm going to cry." Tia tries her best to keep her composure as her heart nearly jumps out of her chest.

Tom grabs her with his good arm and makes a run for the door. "Let's get out of here!" The two trainers turn tail and run for their lives leaving the Ice Cave behind and not looking back for a second.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and i hope you all enjoy. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. There is one thing I do need to clarify in this chapter. Tyranitar can actually learn Avalanche, but it's only in Gen IV, so that's why I included that. Since when this chapter was originally written, way back when I was playing HGSS back in Gen IV. Sometimes i just feel like bend the rules a little for the stories sake. Like Anna having a male Happiny despite the fact they are 100% female.<p> 


	67. Chapter 65: The City of Dragons

Chapter 65: The City of Dragons

The sun in bright and high in the sky as the two emerge scared halfway out of their minds. Tia and Tom both take a second to breathe as they are relieved to be outside once more. It was a pain traversing Ice Cave, but worth it. They've reached their destination: Blackthorn City. Home of the eighth and final gym in Johto.

Tia throws up her arms and cheers, "We've finally made it. We're here and ready to get my final gym badge!" She looks up to the sky and blazing sun. Not a cloud in the sky as Dragon Types fly overhead. Tia knows her final gym battle will be no pushover. She doesn't have much experience with Dragon Type Pokémon, but she knows they are quite powerful. She's seen first-hand the kind of power Tom's Rayquaza and Flygon have so it'll be no surprise that Clair will be packing powerful dragons herself.

Tia wasn't going into this unprepared though, she had a trick or two up her sleeve to help aid in her victory. She may not know the type of trainer Clair is, but Tia's not about to let the fear of the unknown rattle her. Her excitement shows more than anything else. She's practically itching for a battle and her final gym badge.

Tom breathes in the air and sighs, "It's been way too long since I've been here last. Come on out Flygon!" Tom tosses his Pokeball into the air letting out his Flygon. He next calls out his Dratini whom sits on his shoulder affectionately. "That'll be you someday Dratini." He points up to an excited Dragonite flying through the air towards Flygon. "Looks like he's making friends already." He smiles as Flygon starts talking to the Dragonite and slap tails together as a sign of friendship. Tia had never really seen a side of Flygon other than his stone cold battling side. For as incredibly powerful as Tom's Flygon was he was still really kind. It reminds Tia of Tom himself in a way.

"This place is just a Dragon Type's paradise isn't it?" Tia can't help notice all the various Dragon Types roaming around the town casually. Dragon Types from all over the world even. Bagon, Salamance, Haxorus, and even the occasional Garchomp. Young and fully evolved, the city had them all.

Tom grins, "Oh yeah, the best Dragon Type trainers in the world all come from Blackthorn. Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, even Unova's current champion is from Blackthorn." Tom can't deny Blackthorn's esteemed pedigree. There was a time he even envied them for their expert mastery of Dragon Types.

"What separates Blackthorn from the rest of the world? Did a bunch of Dragon Type trainers just decide to settle here one day?" Tia didn't know about the city's history or the mythology surrounding it, but Blackthorn is far from just another city.

"Come with me and I'll explain." He leads her to an outdoor picnicking area and sits at a stone table with intricate dragon carvings in it. The table tells the tale of the town's ancient and proud history. He calls out Cleffa who sits on the table looking at the glyphs as well. "The legend dates back to the beginning of time. Johto more so than any region is known for its rich history and mythology. The Ruins of Alph, the Tin Tower, the Bell Tower; all of these have ancient ties to legendary Pokémon. Blackthorn is no exception." Tom pauses and points to glyph depicting two mighty dragons shining on people below. "Blackthorn use to be another nameless village with inhabitants like anywhere else. They settle the village in the heart of the mountains where many Dragon Types resided. As such the village became close to the Pokémon. This is where things get interesting. One day the villagers heard a loud rumbling from the mountains. A huge battle had broken out and three colossal Dragon Types emerged. One fought with an immense roar that was said to distort time itself, the other seem to manipulate space around itself, and the third was especially frightening. Seemingly ripping holes in reality to evade its foe."

"Wow, I've never heard of Pokémon like that before." Tia comments before Tom continues. Enraptured with his story she eagerly wants to hear more.

"The three Pokémon are the trio of creation itself. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. They ravage the landscape as Giratina laid waste to them. The villagers didn't know what was going on, but they knew Giratina was up to no good. With their strength and the strength of the Pokémon around them they were able to aid Dialga and Palkia in fending off Giratina. The two found the opening they needed and banished Giratina from this world into another dimension." He points to another glyph with Dialga and Palkia bowing before the villagers. "To honor the legendary Pokémon they constructed a shine for them within the mountain and they bestowed a stone tablet to the villagers." As shown in a picture of the villages holding up the stone tablet.

"What was so special about that?" The tablet's origins pique Tia's curiosity.

"It's called the Draco Plate. It's said to be a piece of Arceus himself. It grants any Pokemon holding it more power to its Dragon Type moves. The people of Blackthorn keep it enshrined in Dragon's Den. The home of the Master Dragon Tamer."

"Wow that's pretty amazing. Just think how strong your Rayquaza or Flygon would be with that thing." Tia chuckles and looks more closely at the table. "This is all etched in Unown too." She stands up and walks over to another table. "These tables tell all sorts of legends." She points one speaking of a balance between light and darkness. As well as two legendary heroes who fought alongside these Pokemon. Tia doesn't know much about the various legends around the Pokemon world, but she understands what the Unown lettering says. She makes note of the names Zekrom and Reshiram before moving on to another table with another especially interesting legend etched into it.

Tom stands up and walks to the adjacent table with Tia to see what she was looking at. "Yeah, Blackthorn created these for tourist to look at. It's a really interesting history lesson for anyone interested."

Tia examines one of them. "Groudon, Kyorge, and Rayquaza?"

"They are said to have forged the world; land, sea, and sky." Tom has never come across Groudon and Kyorge, but Sky Tower had very similar glyphs along its walls. "You may want to study up on legendary Pokémon, it's good to know the history surrounding them." Tom points to a small building not far from them. "That building has an entire archive of information on legendary Pokemon if you're interested."

Tia smiles as she examines the glyphs closer and with greater detail. "The Desolate Land and Primordial Sea. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Tom."

"So you ready to head to the gym?" Tom figures she's chomping at the bit to get her last gym badge.

Tia waves her hand dismissively. "Nah that can wait until tomorrow. I really want to see this Dragon's Den now." Surprisingly enough that is what is in the front of her mind right now.

"Wait seriously? You don't mind waiting? Patiently?" It's as if she was speaking some foreign language to him.

"Yeah I'm in no rush. Plus, it'll give me more time to train. So let's check out that Dragon's Den." She notices a sign leading them in its general direction.

Tom utterly baffled just walks behind her in total confusion. They head for the cave where the shrine rests and enter quietly. Tom and Tia look around at all the imagery carved into the wall. Both bow in respect to the shrine before entering. They can tell there is quite a bit of spiritual importance to this shrine and they should respect it well.

Upon entering they notice an elderly man with an ornate staff in the shape of Rayquaza. He is flanked by two large, stone statues of Dialga and Palkia. He wears a long robe with detailed dragon symbols all over it. The robe is black with golden accents to highlight the draconic imagery. Beside him stands two men with similar, but less ornately designed robes. Lastly is a tall woman with blue hair, dressed in blue, and wore a more stoic expression.

The elder is the first to notice the two trainers. "Hello and welcome," his voice is strong yet calm when he address them. "What brings you two the Dragon's Den today?" He smiles warmly as Tia looks around with intrigue.

Clair turns and immediately recognizes Tom. "Why are you here Tom?" Clair doesn't seem happy nor bothered that he's here, though Clair has never been a very emotional person. Still gets a general feeling of annoyance from here. Not too surprising, Clair has never been his biggest fan. She is one of the people who was generally bothered by his cocky attitude and laziness towards his job.

"I'm with her actually," he points to Tia who looks to Clair.

"I'm here for my eighth and final gym badge, but I mostly wanted to see the Dragon's Den." Tia takes a closer look at the Dialga statue and studies it closely. The vivid attention to detail is astounding that it couldn't be anything other than an exact likeness. She notices the same level of detail on the Palkia statue. A lot of love and a great attention to detail was put into these statues and it really shows.

"Please, stay as long as you want. We always welcome visitors. Especially ones who seem as interesting in this as you are." He gives Tia a warm smile and turns his attention back to Tom. "It's a pleasure to see you once more as well, Rayquaza wielder." He lifts his staff and bows his head. Trainers with legendary dragons were head in especially high honor, but Tom blushes feeling a little embarrassed.

"Thank you, I love coming here." He looks around at the statues and feels a presents in the room. It may just be his imagination, but he likes to believe that even to this day a small part of Dialga and Palkia still reside here watching over the den.

Tia looks at all the art work depicting dragons on the wall as well as several, smaller ornate figures sitting on tables around the rom. Though what really stood out to her was a plague on the back wall behind the elder man with the Draco Plate on it. "That's the Draco Plate isn't it?"

The elder nods enthusiastically. "Why yes it is. It is a symbol of our devotion to the dragons this city has become known for. Tell me, do you have any Dragon types?"

Tia shakes her head, "No, but I have confidence in my team regardless of what types they are." Tia gives him a thumbs up, which seems to amuse the elder, but Clair simply scoffs.

"It will take more than confidence to win. I'm sorry, but I do not see a need for us to battle. I will not waste my time with you." She turns up her nose to Tia request.

"What did you just say?" Tia balls her fists and grits her teeth. "I did not come this far just so you could turn down my battle."

"I see no reason for us to fight. You don't even possess a Dragon Type. I don't care what I've heard from the other members of the league. I will not battle you." Her stance is unwavering as she stares down Tia.

"Clair that's ridiculous." Tom tries to argue this, but Clair is having none of it. Tom may be immature at times, but Clair's tendency to turn down trainers she deems 'unworthy' is just as immature if not worse.

The elder clears his throat to get everyone's attention. "I think I may have a compromise. Let us see if this young girl can pass our test. If so then you will battle her, Clair. No questions asked." He looks at Tia and Clair who both silently nod. "Very well, then I shall begin. Tia, what are Pokémon to you?"

Tia smiles knowing her answer already, "Friends and allies in battle." A simple response, but one she knows deep in her heart is true.

He nods and continues, "What helps you to win battles?"

"An iron will, sharp mind, and unwavering strength that my Pokémon and I train to hone. With our unspoken and unbreakable bond." Another answer Tia has the utmost confidence in. A lesson she's thankful Chuck pounded into her head.

"What is the most important for raising Pokémon?" He seems quite pleased with her answers so far.

Tia smiles and looks to Tom. "Knowledge to raise them right and love for your Pokémon." A lesson she's learned from all her experience and her friends.

"Strong Pokémon or weak Pokémon. Which is more important?"

"Both, strong Pokémon are powerful allies and weak Pokémon are allies we help grow strong. Which makes us stronger as a result." Tia thinks back to all her countless battles with her Pokemon. The first time she'd fought a wild Pokemon, her first gym battle against Brock, and her most recent win against Pryce and his Regice. Tia's come quite a long way in such a short time.

The elder nods and smiles widely. "You passed with flying colors. Clair, you will battle Tia." He looks to the gym leader expecting no objections and refusing to take any if she did.

Clair frowns, "Fine, I'll be waiting for you." She walks out in a huff.

"_Such a shame_," he shakes his head as he speaks to himself. "I must say I was very happy with you approach to winning."

Tia smiles widely, "Thank you, I learned that from my Adept training."

"Adept? Well I'll be, I haven't seen your people in ages. Was Chuck your teacher?" The elder is very pleasantly surprised and it seems to bolster his opinion of her even more so.

"Yeah, he taught me all about the Adepts." She grins and gives him a thumbs up.

"Then I also have a small gift for you. A token of your success." He reaches into his robe and produces a small object. He hold out his hand and in his palm is a small fang. "I know you don't have any Dragon Types now, but I think someday this Dragon's Fang will come in handy." Tia happily accepts the items and puts it safely in her bag.

"Thank you sir. I got to get going now. I want to do a lot more training before I take on Clair." Tia bows and makes her way out of the shrine.

"She's quite the trainer." He address Tom with a proud look in his eyes.

"Yeah, she really is." Tom watches Tia run out. He'd noticed all the changes in Tia since she'd started out, but looking at the big picture it was astounding how much she's grown as a trainer and as a person. Tom felt a little bit envious of her.

"Now there is a matter I wish to discuss with you, Rayquaza wielder."

Tom sighs, "I had a feeling this would come up."

Tia makes her way back out and decided to check out the archive Tom had mentioned before. It did fascinate her quite a bit. With all her experiences with legendary Pokemon she wanted to know everything she could.

The building was like a library with books lining every shelf and several spots to sit and read up on the mythical Pokemon. An elderly lady sits at the front counter. "Hello dearie, what brings you here today?" She speaks sweetly with her shaky voice.

Tia smiles respectfully, "I heard about this archive and wanted to see what I could learn."

"You're more than welcome to look around. Any Pokemon in particular you wanted to study?" There are more than a few legendary Pokemon. Far more than Tia could imagine. Studying up on them all would take quite a while.

"What do you have on Regice?" Tia figures any information she can get on the Pokemon she's battled would be informative.

The elderly woman points to a shelf. "On the third shelf, second row. There is an entire book on the Regis. Regirock, Regice, Registeel, and Regigigas."

"Thank you very much," she smiles and runs over to the shelf. Tia browses through and spots a book on Darkrai as well. If she wanted to beat Morty she'd probably want to know about his legend too.

Tia takes the books and grabs a seat. She opens up the book of Regis and is immediately engrossed in information about their legend. It speaks of ancient times where after the great schism created by Groudon and Kyorge came to an end Regigigas pushed the continents together and created three golems to oversee the various landscapes. Due to Regigigas's immense power it was decided he should be sealed away in Snowpoint Temple along with his trio in Hoenn.

Tia takes this all in and snaps her finger. "I guess this was why my dad was so interested in going to Hoenn." Tia remembered her dad jumping on the chance to become a Frontier Brain when she was still just a little girl, but he never explained why Hoenn was so important to him. Still to think Anna had one of the strongest legends at her finger tips was kind of amazing too.

She next picks up the book on Darkrai. Tia's surprised to learn Darkrai was a part of what is known as the Lunar Duo. Opposite that of Cresselia. Yet another legend she's never heard of. It tells tales of the nightmares Darkrai induced by simply being in the presence of others. From Tom's general reaction she's not in the least bit surprised either.

As the time goes on Tia decided she needs to get some training done. She puts back the books where she found them and thanks the woman. "Thank you, this was very informative."

"I'm glad, did you find everything you were looking for?" The elderly woman is curious since there was a great deal to learn here.

Tia pauses for a second, "Is there anything on Mewtwo?" She knows he's an artificially created Pokemon, but he had to come from somewhere.

"Well Blaine did give us a copy of his full report on Mewtwo, but that's not accessible to the public I'm afraid. Though, Mewtwo is an altered clone of Mew." This catches Tia's attention.

"I've heard about Mew before." Living in Kanto it's hard not to have heard at least one story of Mew.

"Mew is said to possess the DNA of every Pokemon. That's why created Mewtwo was possible, Mew's DNA is exceptionally versatile." The woman didn't really know the full explanation, but scientifically speaking Mew was a genetic gold mine.

Tia nods, "Thank you ma'am." She heads out to do some training while there is still plenty of daylight left.

Tia spends the next couple hours training until the sun dips below the mountains and the sky fills with orange. She and all her Pokémon sit quietly as Tia meditates to clear her mind and focus her Ki.

Tom quietly walks up behind making sure not to make a sound as he does so. "You need something Tom?" Her voice is quiet and gentle.

He a little taken aback, "Sorry, I didn't think you knew I was here." He laughs nervously.

"When I meditate I enter a state of total awareness, the more I do this the strong this awareness becomes. Chuck told me about it. He called it Zanshin." Tia's voice is calm and serene as she focuses on her own inner world.

Tom sits down in front of her and emulates her meditative position. Bowing his head and crossing his leg as he breathed softly. "So what does it look like?" He asks her quietly while trying to see if he can do a similar effect.

Tia exhales quietly, "I see blackness everywhere, but I can see a trace of your body with light flowing through you, like I was looking at someone's blood stream, but this is different. It's your Ki."

Tom nods and begins to try visualizing himself. He's suddenly bombarded by emotions in every which way. He starts sweating and hyper ventilating as the emotions around him begin consuming his mind.

Tia rests her hand on his leg without opening her eyes. "Relax, clear everything out. You have full control of this world." Amazingly enough this seems to help.

Tom's breathing begins to relax and he starts to see a clearer picture of Tia. Her body glows a soothing shade of blue, he notices his Flygon above shining a bright and energetic yellow. "Wow, this is so crazy, it's like there's a different color for everyone's mood." He smiles and opens his eyes. "Thanks Tia, you're really mature. You know that?"

She smiles and opens her eyes. "Thank you, and I can kind of say the opposite of you."

Tom chuckles and rubs the back of his head, "Yeah, I guess I can't deny that." There has definitely been a bit of a paradigm shift in their relationship. He stops to think about it more and more, "You really have come a long way since Pallet Town. I remember when you tried to get Bulbasaur to use Solar Beam." He chuckles and stands up.

Tia gets up herself, "Yeah, and here I am fifteen badges later, about to get my sixteen. I bet you didn't expect me to come this far."

"Honestly, no. I figured you would have given up, but you sure proved me wrong. Which I'm glad I was wrong, because you're truly one of the strongest trainers I know." He gives her a thumbs up, "I know you'll win."

"Thanks Tom. By the way, does Clair have any legendary Pokémon?" She winks and flashes him a grin.

Tom laughs, "You are something else. Not that I would be a liberty to say, but no. She does not. Not that you'd be able to take on a Dragon Type legendary Pokémon." Tom knows from experience that taking on Dragon Types is a challenge in itself, but Legendary Pokémon are on an entirely different level.

"Hey, you don't think I could?" She pouts and crosses her arms. In all reality she does know this, but still she feints offense.

"You're not serious are you?" She has to be kidding. Tom can't honestly expect her to think she could take a legendary Dragon Type. "Tia, you barely beat Regice. Still incredibly impressive, but still."

Tia sighs, "You're right, I guess I'm getting a bit too ahead of myself. I honestly don't think I could do it either. Not that I wouldn't love to try." She remembers the feeling and sensation of battling Regice and Darkrai. The overwhelming feeling of command Rayquaza. That surge of power was almost unreal. She has a glint in her eye as she thinks about it. All the power the legendary a Pokémon possess.

Tom snaps his finger in front of her face snapping her back to reality. "That kind of power can't be taken lightly. Don't let it go to your head." He cautions her, Tom's seen first-hand what people with corrupt intentions are capable of.

Tia shakes out those thoughts, "You're right, I guess it's just a bit overwhelming to think about." She takes a deep breath. "Well, I'm going to get some rest before the big match tomorrow."

"That's a good idea, I'll be up in room in a few." He waves her off and walks around the town a bit more. His Flygon flies down beside him and nuzzles against his cheek. Tom laughs with a carefree smile and pets Flygon. Though, deep down what he felt in Tia's heart worried him ever so slightly. Not that he has much to worry about, Tia catching a legendary Pokémon isn't really a concern of his. Let alone her growing power hungry. Regardless, he knows not to underestimate her. Clair will be smart to do the same.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review on this chapter, the series, or the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Backstory time! I do love world building and backstory. This was my first real attempt to take some liberties with the world of Pokemon and actually make some changes to the history of the legends as well as explain in more details about their backgrounds.<p> 


	68. Chapter 66: Dragon's Rage

Chapter 66: Dragon's Rage

The day is here, Tia and Tom walk stoically towards the gym and Tia's final gym battle. Tension is high in the air, but Tia shows no fear or nervousness. She's steeled herself for what will be the most intense gym battle yet. Even without a legendary Pokémon, Clair earned her position and Tia will never underestimate her power. She steps in first with Tom close behind. Before her is two enormous statues of Dialga and Palkia flanking each side of the large, open stadium before them. At the back of the gym standing on her end of the battlefield is Clair with a stone cold expression on her face.

"You've arrived, let us waste no more time. This is an official Pokémon League match between I, Clair, and you the challenger, Tia. The challenger may switch out their Pokémon whenever they want. The match will continue until one team is unable to continue battling. Call out your first Pokémon." Clair glares as she picks out her first Pokémon. She tosses the Pokeball and leads off with her Dragonair.

"Someone isn't wasting anytime." Tia smirks, but gets nothing but a cold stare in return. "Fine, go Togetic." She calls out Togetic, her go to pick for a starting Pokémon. She knows that she'll need all the boosts she can get against Clair. "Start with an Ancient Power." Tia and Togetic start off strong right out of the gate.

"Serpentine Dragonair!" Clair commands her dragon with great ferocity as he coils and slithers past all the falling rocks. "Slam Dragonair!"

Tia flinches as her attack proves ineffective. "Reflect Togetic," Togetic casts up the Reflect just in time to take the brunt of the assault. Togetic didn't fair too well, but she hangs in strong as Tia quickly retaliates. "Another Ancient Power." She hopes this close range assault will prove more effective. Tia knew she was limiting her options with dual screens, Baton Pass and Ancient Power. Still she had a plan and wanted to stick with it.

"You're really hoping for that stat boost aren't you?" Clair has a glint in the eye. "Dragon Pulse!" Dragonair turns to the air and fires a pulse of energy completely obliterating the rocks.

"Extrasensory!" Tia reacts immediately, knowing Clair would care more for the Ancient Power. Togetic's attack connects perfectly with the distracted Dragonair. The sudden attack manages to interfere enough for a few rocks to slip past and hit Dragonair. Unfortunately, Togetic didn't get the boost Tia was hoping for.

Clair on the other hand is quiet irritated. "Dirty tactic," she sneers and retrains her sights on Togetic. "New Target, Dragon Pulse Togetic."

Tia immediately feels the pressure coming down on Togetic as she acts quickly. "Togetic fly back and set up a Light Screen." Togetic bugs out as fast as she can to cast up her second line of defense. Dragon Pulse proves a bit too overwhelming as the attack fells poor Togetic. "Good thing I had Light Clay." She flashes a smirk as she calls back Togetic. He didn't quite get the boosts she wanted, but she at the very least got both of her screens up. "Go Pupitar!" Tia readies her next Pokémon to face down the Dragonair.

"I hope this Pokémon provides a better challenge than the last. Though, I don't think he'll enjoy this Aqua Tail." Dragonair charges forward on cue with a glowing tail.

"About as much as Dragonair enjoys sand in his eyes. Sandstorm!" Pupitar hops back, dodging the Aqua Tail, and sets up a Sandstorm. "Visibility might be low, but I trust Pupitar will be fine. Okay Now Dark Pulse!" Pupitar amongst the sands finds Dragonair who is constantly getting pelted with sand. Dragonair's eyes remained closed as the attack connects taking him especially by surprise. "Finish this with a Crunch." Pupitar does just that. Coming at Dragonair with his maw wide open and biting down hard on Dragonair. Dragonair coils and flails around pain trying to shake off Pupitar. Pupitar was relentless and his jaw, tight like a vice. Dragonair continued to struggle until he finally faints from the continued damage.

The Sandstorm clears and Clair grits her teeth. "Return, go Kingdra!"

"This might make things a bit more difficult. Return Pupitar." Tia calls back her Pupitar knowing it's her only real option at this point. Better to keep him around for later than losing him early just for some quick damage on Kingdra. Tia's not sure who to send out next. Logically she'd go for Ampharos, but she has no idea what else Clair could have so preserving that ace up her sleeve might be more beneficial. After making a tough judgement call Tia decides, "Go Skarmory!"

"Smart decision, but don't think you'll win like this either. Kingdra give that Skarmory a Dragon Pulse." Kingdra hovers in place and sends out a devastating Dragon Pulse towards Skarmory.

"Skarmory charge forward and glide close to the ground." Skarmory navigates flawlessly only taking a small amount of residual damage from the attack. As he closes in on Kingdra Tia gives an attack. "Air Slash Skarmory." She demonstrates their new move as powerful blades of air form under Skarmory's wings and slash at Kingdra.

"Hydro Pump!" Clair was expecting a forward assault so she knew that at point blank Hydro Pump would more than likely hit.

Tia grins, "Agility!" Skarmory accelerates just in the nick of time to avoid the large burst of water. "Take to the sky and give Kingdra a Metal Sound." She points up triumphantly as Skarmory rapidly ascends. Skarmory screeches and gives Kingdra quite a stir.

"Now Skarmory, another Air Slash!" Skarmory flaps his winds and fires off blades of wind at Kingdra. Tia knows this will be especially hard to dodge with such a wider range to hit with. Skarmory flaps powerfully sending off huge blades of air at Kingdra.

"Kingdra Hydro Pump the ground." Kingdra points to the arena floor and fires off a huge burst of water below him propelling him into the air and bashing into Skarmory. It wasn't a particular powerful hit, but it got Kingdra out of the line of Air Slash.

Kingdra falls back to the ground and lands gracefully before Clair continues. "Smokescreen Kingdra." Clair takes the defensive and waits for the smoke to bellow out of Kingdra and cover the entire battlefield. "Perfect," she smirks confidently.

Skarmory looks down trying to see his target. Tia herself is also unable to discern Kingdra's location so she does the next best thing. "Once again, Air Slash so we can blow the smoke away Skarmory." She figures it'll clear the smoke and if she's lucky Skarmory will hit Kingdra in the process.

Clair waits patiently as the smoke slowly gets pushed away and dissipates. What remained was a very unpleasant sight for Tia. Kingdra standing poised with a large amount of light gathering in his mouth. "Hyper Beam!"

"Oh Sh-" The burst of immense energy takes Tia and Skarmory by total surprise and devastates Skarmory. "Skarmory hang in there!" It's looking bleak. There is no way Skarmory can take another hit. Still Skarmory staggers as he flies. "Quick one last Air Slash!" Tia hopes that with Kingdra's recovery time and lowered Special Defense that it will be enough to finish off Clair's second Pokémon.

The blades cut through the air and land a direct hit on Kingdra taking him down, but Clair isn't too concerned, because she effectively took Skarmory out of the equation. "Return Kingdra, now go Gyarados." Another part Water Type will at least keep Pupitar at bay a bit longer and force out a new Pokémon.

Tia looks at the weaken state of her Skarmory and calls him back making down two Pokémon essentially. "Well this shouldn't be too bad, go Ampharos!" It's pleased that her Electric Type is going toe-to-toe with a Flying/Water Type.

Clair can't help but cringe thinking about the terrible type match up she found herself in. She can't expect her Gyarados to take down Ampharos, but she'll try none the less. Clair decides to see how Tia will react first. No sense running in blind.

"Ampharos use Power Gem." Ampharos stands her ground as vibrant gems manifest around her and fire off at Gyarados.

Clair isn't about to be surprised by this though, "Serpentine and give Ampharos a Bite." Gyarados lunges forward swiftly and coils around and the attack with his gaping maw wide open and read to bite into Ampharos.

"Ampharos jump up on Gyarados's back!" Ampharos waits for Gyarados to get into range before taking a huge leap up Gyarados's head and starts running down his back. "Thunderwave." Tia makes sure that this attack won't miss.

"Shake it off!" Clair's command come a little too late as the damage has been done. Ampharos shocks Gyarados causing instant paralysis. "Get Ampharos off of you!" Her orders are in vain as Gyarados is slow to respond and seizes up from the paralysis.

"ThunderPunch!" Ampharos continues her relentless assault of Gyarados making Clair increasingly angrier. "Power Gem!" Tia happily continues attacking knowing there is very little Gyarados can do to stop her at this point. Gyarados growls furiously in anguish as the paralysis stuns Gyarados. Shaking back and forth violently trying to get Ampharos off its back.

Clair practically growls, "Gyarados use Dragon Pulse!" Still shaken and stunned from the Thunderwave, but he manages to get off the attack knocking Ampharos off his back. Unfortunately, the attack didn't quite do as much as Clair would have liked. "Continue with another Dragon Pulse." Gyarados roars and sends another massive pulse of energy towards Ampharos.

Tia smiles, "Someone's getting frustrated. That clouds your judgement ya know?" Tia waits and takes a deep breath. "Duck Ampharos." Ampharos throws herself to the floor as the attack passes harmless overhead, "Perfect, now let's finish this with a Power Gem." Ampharos hops up and sends a finishing Power Gem towards Gyarados for a triumphant and decisive blow.

Clair shouts in frustration as she calls back Gyarados. "Play time is over! Go Dragonite!" She throws the Pokeball into the middle of the arena and her powerful Dragon Type roars proudly.

Tom's eyes widen at the sight of Clair's Dragonite. "Hold on Clair that's not a member of your sanctioned team!" He knew she was angry at Tia, but to stoop to this level is unprofessional.

Tia extends her left arm out and back at Tom. "It's fine Tom, this will be fun." She gets a devious smile in the face of such a powerful foe. "So a Dragonite? This will be the deciding battle?" Tia wants to make sure no other Pokémon will be rearing their heads.

Clair silently nods, "You shouldn't act so calm. Dragonite is my strongest Pokémon. He's almost unbeatable at you're level."

Tia laughs, "Yeah, almost. Ampharos use Thunderwave." Tia tries the same strategy on Dragonite, but she has a feeling she knows how this will end up.

"Not happening, Dragon Rush!" Dragonite flies ahead and dodges the stray bolts of electricity before colliding head first into Ampharos. The damage Dragonite contained was monumental compared to the damage of her previous Pokemon.

Ampharos goes flying back after the incredible amount of damage, but Tia had planned on this. "Electro Ball," she knew Clair would no doubt charge forward with a near finishing blow, Tia banked on it. So as the two Pokémon collided she had Ampharos spring a trap. The Electro Ball hits the underside of Dragonite, but hardly fazes Clair's beast of a Pokemon.

At almost the exact same time Tia and Tom both notice something odd about Dragonite. An object around his neck. Tom is the first to call it out. "Clair!" Tom is furious now. "Why does Dragonite have the Draco Plate around his neck? That's a direct violation of the rules and your code of conduct!" She was breaking all the protocols for this final standoff. Staking all the odds in her favor.

Tia simply smiles and laughs, "So that explains it. You want to beat me that badly? What's the matter Clair?" Tia sinks her head and looks at Clair with an almost malicious grin. "Are scared?" Tom's blood runs cold and he doesn't know why. What she'd said or how she'd said it sent chills down Tom's spine.

"Enough games, finish it with Fire Blast." Clair snaps her fingers and Dragonite complies. He hovers over Ampharos who is on her last leg. She struggles to stand as the Fire Blast comes flying right at her. The intense flames practically burning before even hitting her.

"Return!" Tia calls back Ampharos before the final attack can land. She knew it was over for Ampharos so she decided to save her the pain of getting knocked out by such a devastating blow. She now sits three Pokémon down, same as Clair. She decides to take her chances with Pupitar again. "Alright Pupitar your time to shine again." She knows that fighting off Dragonite will require a lot more strategy so she can't go head first into this fight. "Sandstorm."

Clair frowns, "You can't keep relying on old tricks if you expect to beat my Dragonite."

Tia smirks, "The thing about these _old tricks _is that they are still good strategies, Dark Pulse." A wave of dark energy emerges from the sands hitting Dragonite. It's minimal, but still effective. At this point Tia will take any damage she can get. Being conservative wasn't so much her strategy as just avoiding as much damage as possible. So if that meant waiting it out for the right opening she was fine with that.

"Too bad Dragonite isn't afraid of a little sand. Fly in there and fish Pupitar out." Dragonite flies up and swoops down into the sandstorm and grabs Pupitar. The two come flying out the top as Pupitar struggles to break free.

Tia laughs, "Way to play right into my hands Clair. Thrash!" Pupitar starts to violently thrash about in Dragonite's arm causing him to wince in pain leaving him no choice but to drop Pupitar. Pupitar is resilient enough to take a fall without any issue. "Dark Pulse."

Clair grits her teeth and balls her fist. "Aqua Tail now!" Her anger is definitely taking hold now. Dragonite takes the Dark Pulse with no real care and whips Pupitar with a mighty swing of his tail dowsed in water.

Pupitar gets send flying back by the sheer power of the attack. "Hang in just a little bit longer Pupitar." Pupitar is staggered and will not be able to take another hit like that. Dragonite flies forward with another Aqua Tail ready to finish off. "Return!" Tia quickly returns her Pupitar and immediately switches him out. "Go Heracross!" Heracross hops right into the fray with an Aqua Tail approaching. Heracross braces himself and crosses his arms. The attack is certainly powerful, but definitely not as damaging as it could be. "Counter!" Heracross happily returns everything and then some that Dragonite dished out.

"You think you're so clever? Fire Blast!" Clair sends another relentless attack at Tia's Pokémon.

"Dodge it Heracross then swoop in from above with a Close Combat!" Heracross takes the battle to the skies with a powerful Close Combat. Dragonite is unable to react fast enough, but he manages to get a quick Aqua Tail off in the scrap.

"End this now! Outrage!" Dragonite grabs hold of Heracross and charges up one final attack with enough force to knock out Heracross. Heracross struggle, but manages to break free. Unfortunately, it's too late. Outrage kicks in and Dragonite nails Heracross with an Outrage sending Heracross falling to the floor like a meteor. If the attack wasn't bad enough the added strength of the Draco Plate made the damage extra lethal to poor Heracross.

"Heracross get up!" Tia's body begins to shake as she orders her Pokémon. She envisions Heracross and his current state. Tia's breath grows ragged as she hopes and prays Heracross will rise for one last attack. Tia needed seconds. Mere seconds to secure herself the win.

"No Pokémon could survive a hit like that after the last barrage of Aqua Tails." Clair smiles victoriously as she awaits Tia's final Pokémon. "It was a good effort I suppose."

Tia begins sweating as she waits for the dust to settle. "Heracross Counter!" From the dust comes Heracross speeding through the air like a bullet. Every last second of Heracross and Tia's training paid off. This moment, the culmination of everything they've been through. Everything Tia's learned.

"Impossible!" Heracross does the impossible just as Tia had. She will him to rise and now Heracross is ripping through the air and punching Dragonite right in the stomach. "Even that counter won't be enough don't fool yourself."

Tia's whole body feels like it's on fire. She's burning every last bit of her Ki to ensure the win. "Heracross we can win. Pour every last bit of energy we have into this hit!" Her breathing grows even more ragged as she stands firmly. Heracross's eye focus solely on Dragonite as he digs into Dragonite's stomach. All the unrelenting force of the Draco Plate charged Outrage comes back at Dragonite tenfold.

The attack finally dies down and both Pokémon come falling out of the sky. Dragonite hits ground first with a tremendous thud shaking the entire arena on impact. Heracross follows not long afterwards. Both lie motionless on the ground in a surprise turnabout from Tia.

"Dragonite… lost?" Clair is almost too stunned for words.

Tia smiles and calls back Heracross. In the same instant Tom runs over to her and catches her as she falls backwards. "Dear god you push yourself to the extreme." His comment gets a laugh out of Tia and she slowly recovers. He's had to do this more than enough times now to know the routine. Tia loved pouring every last ounce of her energy into her gym battles. A girl who was once a novice less than a year ago is now a trainer with a true love and passion for battling.

"I won didn't I? That's all that matters." She smiles softly and regains her footing. She slowly approaches Clair with Tom helping support her. "Looks like I won." Tia wears an air of cockiness after proving herself against Clair's best.

"I don't know how you did it, but that doesn't convince me. I will not give you the badge." Her bitterness shows in spades.

"Clair, you can't do that!" Tom is ready to reprimand her here and now. He had more than enough violations to slap her with already. This one would land her on suspension for sure.

Tia laughs, "You won't give me the badge? That's fine. I'll come back tomorrow and you know what? I'll beat you then too. Then the next day and the next day. I will beat over and over until you have no choice but to admit I deserve this badge!" She gets right in Clair's face.

"Do I need to tell your brother about this Clair?" Tom scowls at her stubborn refusal. Which he does not understand at all.

"Every gym leader in the league has talked about you and what an amazing trainer you are. I was inclined to agree, but I refuse to accept it without first seeing you for myself. You know what? They were right and that's what infuriates me. I've devoted my life to training Dragon Types and some girl who's barely been a trainer a year just walks right in and beats me. It's not fair!" She stomps her foot and glares at Tia. "Why are you so damn special?" Clair's deep seeded jealousy finally comes to the surface.

Tia sighs, "I may not have devoted my whole life to Pokémon like you did, but I have now. I am a Pokémon Trainer, I am an Adapt, and I will be the best. That's what drives me. I will never give up. I wanted to win more than you did Clair. You know why? Because I still have much to prove to the world. So I will do that and I will not quit, I will not settle, and I will not give up until I do."

Tia's indomitable willpower shines through in what she says taking Clair by surprise. "Very well, you've earned the Rise Badge. Go on to the Elite Four and prove yourself to the entire world." She finally gives Tia a soft smile as she lays the badge in her hand.

Tia smiles widely and hold up the badge. "I did it, I got my eighth gym badge!" She's absolutely elated. If she wasn't already totally drained Tia would be jumping for joy right now.

"I hate to admit it, but you've earned it more than any other trainer I've fought." Clair watches the two of them step out of the gym as she turns to the back of the gym. She walks silently to her office and calls out her brother. "Hello Lance."

"Clair. How did you match with Tia go?" He knows exactly why she's calling and gets straight to the point.

"She crushed my Dragonite with her Heracross. She met my challenge head on and won." She wants to be angry, but she can't help grin just a little.

"So is this your fair warning to me?" Lance grins as well.

"You're in for one tough battle." She thinks over her match and how her frustration took hold while fighting Tia. "Lance, how do you think she does it?"

He shakes his head, "Willpower, determination, and she is no doubt a prodigy late to the game or not. I wouldn't doubt if she started at the same time they did she'd be on an equal or higher footing."

"Life's so unfair at times isn't it?" She'd trained and worked her whole life to be the best. She commands Dragon Types better than most, yet she's still so far behind others.

"Don't get discouraged Clair." Lance is a bit softer spoken with his younger sister, a side he doesn't show often.

"Easy for you to say." She pouts.

Meanwhile Tia is happily celebrating her eighth gym victory in Johto. She holds the Rise Badge up in the air and lets the sun shine on it. "I can't believe it. I have all eight gym badges. I'm going to take on the Pokémon League Elite Four!"

Tom laughs, "Wow. I'm surprised you're even more excited than when you beat the Kanto League." She also a completely different person from then too.

"Yeah, because I know I will be able to be the Elite Four." This Tia has no doubt. She looks at her badges proudly and turns her head to the sky. "Here I come Victory Road and here I come Silver."

"That's great, but this will be without a doubt your hardest challenge yet. You know that right?" Tom can speak for himself personally. He's not about to go easy on Tia. He's going all out or nothing at all. The Elite Four will do the same. An all-out marathon of battles from one member to the next. Waiting and coming back later were not an option. She was allowed time to heal her Pokemon between battles, but even then she could only use the items she had on hand. So she better come fully stocked.

Tia closes her eyes and thinks for a few moments, "I think I should train a bit more before I take on the league. Just a few days, but I want that last bit of intense training before I take on something as big as the Pokémon League Elite Four."

"Respectable, if you want to train more then go ahead." Tom is proud to see Tia make this choice for herself instead of simply running head first into this. She's been doing that a lot lately. Tia's mellowed out quite a bit, though conversely Tom can't help feeling he's been neglecting his responsibilities. As well as generally acting impulsive and immature.

"Alright then, I'll see you at the Indigo Plateau in three days." Tom gives Tia a thumbs up as the two look to the skies where the dragons fly over head.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review on the chapter, the series, or the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Oh boy we're entering the home stretch now. Johto's almost over and soon we'll be heading to Hoenn. All that's left now is the training, battling with Silver, the Elites, and Tom. Then a few chapters between the arcs which I look forward to and I hope you all do too.<p> 


	69. Chapter 67: Fight to the Top

Chapter 67: Fight to the Top

Tia stands now at her final obstacle before the league. She promised Tom and Silver both she'd be there on Victory Road in four days. Three days to train until her and her Pokémons' hearts are content. This will be her greatest challenge yet so she can't blow this. Little did Tom know, Tia's already back in Kanto. She stands now before the perilous obstacle before her. Mt. Silver. The largest mountain range in Kanto. The dividing line of Kanto and Johto. Her home region where it all began. Just West of the Indigo Plateau and the Pokémon League. The daunting mountain that can be seen from Viridian City and Palette Town was an almost ominous reminder of the enormous gapes in strength between the new trainers just receiving their first Pokémon from Prof. Oak and those who can say that stand amongst the elites.

Tia stands at the precipice of one of the most challenging and harsh areas in either Johto or Kanto. Still Tia faces it with courage and determination to succeed. This will be the final sprint before the finish for her. So she cannot give up without using any less that one-hundred percent of her strength. Her goal: reach the top. The highest point in both regions and said to be where some of the strongest trainers in the world go to train. She didn't want to reveal to Tom where she was going, but Tia was pretty sure Tom's scaled Mt. Silver once or twice before.

Tia can already feel her blood pumping and her heart rushing with excitement as she steps towards the cave. She notices Pokémon grazing along the exterior of the mountain. Donphan and Tangela mind their own. Rapidash grazing with their Ponyta children. A few Ursaring eye Tia as she walks past. One steps forward imposingly, but steps beck when it sees the look in Tia's eyes that pretty much said I'm superior.

Tia steps into the cave. A monumental feat on its own thanks to her fear of caves. Still Tia takes a deep breath and calls out her Pokémon. They all stand in attention as Tia looks at them all, "Alright this will be our final training session before the Elite Four. We have three days to train our hardest and be ready for the toughest battles of our lives. Our goal will be to make it to the top of Mt. Silver." Tia points upward confidently and smirks as all her Pokémon cheer. "It'll be a tough climb with plenty of strong Pokémon to fight along the way. Still I have the utmost confidence in all of you that we can make it." They cheer once more and walk beside Tia as they head up natural pathway carved in the cave. Tia looks to Pupitar specifically who looks a little apprehensive. Tia crouches down and paths him on top of his head, "Don't worry you'll be a Tyranitar by the time we're done here. I promise." Pupitar nods trusting Tia completely.

"Alight let's go!" She points forward and starts running through the cave as Pokémon start approaching. Golbat fly forward, itching for a good battle. "Ampharos start off with a Power Gem!" Ampharos leads the charge as she blasts off a whole onslaught of rocks at the Golbat. "Togetic use Ancient Power." Rocks come collapsing all around the Golbat disrupting the cave. A series of rumbles echo through the cave before an Onix emerges looking quite a bit angry that it was disturb. "Skarmory use Steel Wing." Skarmory didn't have a lot of room to maneuver so he flew low to the ground and cut into Onix just below its head. Skarmory keeps up the assault while Onix flails back and forth. Tia and her Pokémon are in perfect sync. Another Onix emerges, but Tia simply smiles, "Okay Heracross Close Combat."

The scene before Tia was a bit chaotic, focusing on so many aspects of the battle at once was overwhelming, but she knew this was perfect practice. She eventually has Pupitar and Typhlosion jump into the fray for some crowd control while a whole lot more Pokémon start to show up. It's going to be a long way to the top that's for sure.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Kanto another development was going on. Lance sits in his office in the Indigo Plateau. It's small and quaint with a book shelf full of records of legendary Pokémon and books on Pokémon myths and lore. As well as more than a few Dragon statues too. Lance is currently tied up doing a bunch of random paper work. More than a bit of it fell on the responsibility of a negligent champion.

His focus is suddenly broken from a knock at the door. He sighs ever so slightly. "Come in," Lance did not like to be interrupted while he worked, but somehow his fellow Elite Four members always found some new and inventive way to distract him. At least Karen and Will did. Bruno usually kept to himself.

None of the members step in his office though, instead Tom walks in looking a little on edge. "Sorry if I'm interrupting." He may be Lance's boss by status alone, but Tom still felt like Lance was the one who really ran the league behind the scenes.

Lance waves his hand dismissively. "It's alright, what brings you here today? I thought you'd be arriving with Tia." Lance would have heard word if someone had come to challenge the league.

Tom shakes his head silently. "She wanted a few more days to train before taking on the league."

Lance smirks, "She's determined to beat us that's for sure."

Tom nods, "The reason I'm here is because the more I travel with her the more I'm realizing that I have responsibilities of my own that I'm not keeping up with. As much as I'd love to continue traveling with her when she leaves for Hoenn I know I can't. I need to start doing my job. Even the stupid paperwork."

Lance nods, "That's very mature of you Tom. You've matured a lot since you started traveling with her. Before you use to put on airs, but now it feels genuine." Lance caps his pen and invites Tom to sit down. "So I guess you'll be settling down for a bit then so we can finally set up housing for you." It was common that the Pokémon league pays for housing of its official. Many gyms and league building provided good housing, but some chose to live in their own home or have a vacation home. Champions were a bit different though, they were only called on when needed for a battle. Since requests to battle the champion weren't as common as Elite Four or gym battles it was impractical for the champions to be expected to live on the premise.

This was something Tom's thought about for a while now. "I know this will probably just create more work for you, but I want this to be taken care of as soon as possible."

Lance shakes his head, "It's not a problem." He pats a large stack of paper. "Since you seem so willing to help and take responsibility I have a gift for you. All these forms are for you to work through." Lance wasn't the kind to get joy out of spiting others, but he can almost literally feel a weight being lifted off his back.

Tom sinks his head, "Fair enough, I guess I deserve that."

"Let's not worry about that now. Where would you like to set up your housing? Saffron City has a lot of vacant apartments available." Lance knew Tom well enough to know he'd want to live near Sabrina.

Surprisingly though Tom shakes his head. "I actually have a place in mind," he pulls out a newspaper with a circled article. "The Golden Rise Apartments in Goldenrod City."

Lance raises an eye brow. "You want to live in Goldenrod City? Well it is where you grew up you said. Still a little surprising."

Tom explains the logic behind his choice. "Well I've always loved Goldenrod City. Littleroot is nice, but I'm a city guy. Plus, I know Anna's still a new gym leader so I can help her out since her and I are good friends. Also, I'll just be a quick Magnet Train ride or Teleport away from Sabrina."

"Fair enough, I'm assuming you want the penthouse?" Lance casually looks over the article and pulls it up on his computer.

Tom is taken aback, "I mean yes, but the rent costs are almost as much as my monthly salary." Which put into perspective the Pokémon League champion is one of the highest paid positions in the league. Tom figured he's be able to afford one of the smaller apartments on the lower floors.

Lance shakes his head, "Tom the league fully covers housing, it's no problem. Frankly we've had reserve funds for a while now since you weren't actually using them. You've been the champion for over 2 years now. That money was reserved for champion housing. The league is actually willing to cover more if you wanted a different apartment somewhere else in the city." Lance is a man who prefers talking business. It's what he understands best. So it's a blessing that he is so helpful to Tom.

Tom doesn't even have to think about the idea though, with a simple shake of his head Tom smiles. "No, I want to live there. When I was a kid that was the most popular apartment building in the whole city. It was too expensive for a gym leader who had to support his wife and kids. I know there are a lot more high-end apartments and condos around now, but this is one I've always wanted to live in." Tom is once more is washed over by a wave of nostalgia.

Lance nods approvingly. "It's settled then, I'll do the necessary paperwork and inform the landlord. Until then here's the forms you need to fill out." Naturally Lance has a whole mess of forms for Tom to fill out on top of the other mountain of paperwork.

Tom slams his head down on the desk. "Why is there so much paperwork involved in this job?" He agonizes while reluctantly starting all his work.

Meanwhile, back deep in the caves of Mt. Silver Tia and her team progress onwards. It'd been hours since she'd first enter and they've already encountered a huge horde of Pokémon one after another. Fatigue was kicking in and Tia especially was feeling beat. As they continued what seemed like the endless climb to the top there's a sudden shift in the rocks. The foot Pupitar stood on quickly crumbled and quake beneath him causing him to start falling.

"Pupitar!" Tia thinking fast and grabs Pupitar, but her own footing quickly crumbles away. The two begin to fall. Thankfully, Typhlosion grabbed Tia's arm and begins pulling her up. Pupitar was a bunch of added weight though. If she had a free hand she'd call him back, but at the moment the two were hanging a good hundred feet above ground. Mt. Silver was known to be perilous for a reason. With Skarmory's talon he grasped onto Tia's shoulders and tried to aid in pulling her up. Ampharos grabbed hold of Tia's arm as well. Heracross quickly flies under Tia and pushes her up by her feet. Their combined strengths manage to finally get Tia and Pupitar back onto stable ground.

Tia sits down and puts a hand on her chest as she regulates her heart beat. "That was too close." She pats Pupitar on the head. "You all worked perfectly together. Now let's get out of this cave." Tia and her team make a run for a light shining at the end of the tunnel leading to the exterior of Mt. Silver. The rest was a steady climb and hike up. Some areas were considerably steeper than others. While some lent themselves to be good walk ways. Though by the time they'd emerged out the sun was all but set on the landscape and the temperature had dropped quite a bit. She'd made it a little more than half way up on her first day so Tia is content with stopping for the night and recovering her strength for the last run to the top tomorrow.

She and her team set up a small camp in an alcove on a stable footing. Tia didn't need any surprises caused by sudden shifting of the rocks on the mountain. They light a small fire to keep themselves warm and sleep soundly through the night. Tia feeling especially tiresome, but she knows there is still plenty of mountain left to cover.

She dreams of her past experiences and what she will be expecting come time for her final battle against the Elite Four and Tom. Tia didn't want to admit it to herself or anyone, but she was scared. Scared she might lose, scared that they'd be too strong for her, but scared most of all that Tom would prove too powerful for her. She already had a slim chance of beating him, but that's why she decided to climb Mt. Silver. She needed to get even stronger to close the gap between the two of them. Which at this point she's worried still might not be enough. She's well aware of the fact that beating the Elite Four and defeating the champion are two totally different things, but Tia also knows that she has to battle Tom. This is her chance to show how strong she's become, even if she loses. She needs to know where she stands compared to him. Whether the two of them stood on the same level or not.

Tia even begins thinking about Anna. Her friend and girl who's always been pretty modest, but apparently has this incredible power hidden underneath the surface. She beat Rayquaza and was regarded by Tom as one of the strongest trainers he knew. Tia wants that same privilege. She doesn't want to be left behind or constantly have to be playing catch up with her friends.

Tia also dreamed of what it would be like to have a legendary Pokémon of her own. The power they hold and their unimaginable strength. Only a truly world class trainer could ever control them and draw out their fullest potential. Even Tia's limited experience with Rayquaza was incredible. The power was almost addicting. Tia craved that power secretly, whether she was even aware of it herself.

Dawn comes and Tia is already up and meditating to mentally and physically prepare herself for the final climb to the top. For about an hour she meditates and hones her Ki. She knows she won't be doing a lot of battling, but Tia had learned to make a habit out of it regardless so it was second nature to her. For the next hour she did a combination of push-ups, sit-ups, and a variety of other exercises before eating and continuing up the mountain.

Once she's fully energized and revitalized Tia stretches once more and looks to her team. "Alright, this is it. One last stride to the top!" She points to the top of the mountain which was still largely out of sight, but the peak could be slightly seen from this point. With that Tia breaks out into a run and starts climbing the mountain onto a path way above. Her Pokémon not far behind. Tia breaks out into a sprint with her Typhlosion easily being able to keep up with her. Along with Skarmory acting as a spotter in case Tia lost her footing or the rocks collapsed under her.

The climb to the top is long and demanding, halfway through Tia was already hitting the point of physical exhaustion so she was forced to slow down and pace herself. She made sure to keep very well hydrated and stopped at Noon for lunch. Tia drank plenty of water and energy drinks to keep herself hydrated and energized as well as eating a lot of food for added carbs she could burn on her run up.

"Maybe this is how that Snorlax Diet is supposed to work?" She jokes to herself while she ate quickly. Tia couldn't afford to waste time and as she ascend the mountain she was starting to feel light headed from the thinner atmosphere. Still Tia is ready to overcome every obstacle if she wants to truly become stronger. She was not just doing this for her sake, but the sake of her Pokémon as well. Her team of trusted friends and allies. They never disappointed her and she was not about to disappoint them.

She uses all of her strength and energy to run to the top. Fighting and climbing her way up. This a battle of attrition and a testament to her determination. The mountain, much like the Elite Four is one final challenge to power through and conquer. It's that mindset that helps Tia find the strength she needs to do it. She takes a water bottle and sprays it in her mouth while she ran. She could feel her legs burning, her chest tightening, and heart pounding. This was easily the most intense work out she'd had since Cianwood. This was different though. Tia gasps for air and desperately wants to stop to catch her breath, but the top was getting ever closer and she knew if she powered through a bit more she'd be able to make it. She continues to keep her fluids up as the time passes. She easily cuts the actual time it would have taken in half. Tia is quite proud of the progress she was making and how much stamina she had to burn. She knew her limit was coming still she continued pushing herself.

On the brink of fatigue, Tia only had a couple hundred more feet to the top of the mountain. She could feel anticipation rising as her stamina depleting. Her vision blurred and her body stared slowing down. "I… have… to… keep going!" The afterburners kick in as Tia feels a wave of energy flowing through her. She was now running of fumes, but empowered by her Ki she'd saved up knowing she'd need every last ounce of it.

With one last mad dash Tia makes her way to the top of Mt. Silver. Tia shouts and runs full speed to the top. She's finally made it. She stands at the top of the highest point in Kanto and Johto. One of the highest points in the world. Around she could see into the endless expanses. Johto and Kanto looked like specks. The ocean an endless wave of blue.

She smiles and collapses to her knees catching her breath as she panted. Spraying water all over her face, before lying on the stone surface of the peak. Her vision blurs as she rests to regain her strength. Her Pokémon surround her as well as a smaller Pokémon she's unfamiliar with floats over her. Then another figure, she couldn't quite make out the shape, but looked human.

A few hours later Tia slowly awakens to the feeling of a warm flame. She opens her eyes slowly. As they adjust, she notices her Pokemon gathered around the fire with another person. She sits herself up as the person comes into focus. She rubs her eyes. "Who are you?" He's a young man, Tia's age with raven black hair. It's quite messy, but that seems more by design than anything. As well as red and white hat sitting backwards on his head. He's also sporting blue jeans, a black undershirt, and a matching red and white jacket.

He looks to Tia with his piercing red eyes and smirks. "You don't recognize me, sis?"

Tia's eyes widen. "Red?" She runs over to him and gives him a big hug.

He cringes, "Wow you've gotten strong." Her grip was like a vice.

"I haven't seen you in forever. You only stopped by a handful of times these past seven years. I was beginning to forget I had a brother." Tia pauses awkwardly, "No that I think about it. I'm pretty sure I've never once mentioned having a brother to any of my friends." Tia's actually amazed that never came up. As if he'd just come into existence for the first time.

"That's cold sis." Red shakes his head unapprovingly.

"Have you?" Tia rebuttals.

"That's cold." His expression is stoic and unchanged. "I still write you and mom."

"Well I've been gone taking on the Kanto and Johto league." Tia hasn't be privy to any of his letters since she left.

"I heard. You've learned quick. You never wanted to be a trainer. So what changed your mind?" Looking ta Tia now she's hardly the same person from when they were kids.

"A lot of things. I mostly wanted to be strong enough to find Gary." Gary has always had an impact on their lives.

"I should have known." Red scoffs, "You always had such a crush on him."

Tia blushes, "We dated for a while. Until her became champion and then all the other crap that happened."

Red raises a brow to this. "So he took over as champion after I stepped down."

"Yeah, why did you do that? You were the Indigo League's youngest champion and a year later you just upping quit?" She never understood why he did it, but now knowing the current champion she can probably see why her brother did.

"Too restricting. I still wanted to see the world. So is Gary still the champion?" Red is clearly out of the loop so Tia happily explains.

Tia laughs, "The Indigo League has the worst luck with noncommittal champions." She pauses and explains. "No, my friend Tom is the current champion. Gary was defeated pretty much once he became the champ. Then he ran off to Unova and here we are today." It's surprising out that one event actually profoundly changed her life and ironically led Tia to meeting Tom.

"Wow that sucks for him." Red laughs before handing off Tia a plate of food. "Here you must be starving."

"Thanks," she eats up fiercely trying to sate her appetite. "So what are you doing up here?" She asks between bites.

Red shrugs, "I train here all the time. It looks like who every was here last kind of wrecked the place." Debris and uprooted boulders as well as fissures were spread all over the mountain peak. "I take it you're up here to train too?" This fact was pretty evident. "What's with the whole Battle Girl get up?"

Tia chuckles, "Well I've obviously been working out a lot more. She pats her abdomen proudly. It's all a part of my Adept training."

Red nods, "Adept, that's impressive. Never would have guessed my twin sister was an Adept." Red himself was not one which is all the more reason to be impressed.

"Since we're both here to train. Want to train together?" Tia knows her brother is a really good trainer so she wants to see for herself.

A Pokémon floats over both their heads and perches on Red's head. The Pokémon looks curiously at Tia. It has small pink body with a tail the same length as its body. Tia stares wide eyed. "Is that Mew?"

Red gives her a cheeky grin, "Yeah, I got her a long time ago."

"Mew's a girl? Wow, never pegged my brother as having a legendary Pokémon." At this point Tia's starting to lose count of all the people with legendary Pokémon she's met.

"What do you have to compare against?" Red obviously naïve to Tia's many adventures.

"Well, I guess you are like Tom in some ways. Well you were. I guess Anna didn't strike me as the type either. Morty, well in hindsight it's obvious. Same thing with Sabrina. Pryce is pretty obvious. As well as-" She's suddenly interrupted.

"Whoa slow down. All those people have legendary Pokémon?" Red is stunned to say the least.

"Yeah, also have any weird people in masks been watching you?" Tia wonders if there is a deeper connection to all these mysterious trainers.

Red looks a little reluctant to answer. "Does the name Sigma mean anything to you?"

"Depends, does the name Six mean anything to you?" They both seem to be testing the waters at this point.

That is until Red bursts out laughing, "Wow you got stuck with her? I feel sorry for you." He pats her on the back. "You've definitely had some crazy adventures."

"That's nothing. Let's do some training together and I'll tell you everything." Tia stands up and stretches after her meal. "I mostly want to battle Mew over there." Tia points to the Pokémon perched on Red's head.

He shoots her a cocky grin. "I'm liking the looks of you team. Hope you don't mind losing a lot though."

"Bring it bro." Tia shoots him the same grin.

A day and a half remains and she'll be using every minute of it to train. Thankfully she's got an excellent training partner to do it with.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, or the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Surprise plot twin! Yeah, I'm not going to lie this was not set up properly in advance at all. In hindsight, I really should have put in more clues in the rewrites, but oh well that's life. Still I needed a trainer for Mew and Red felt like the perfect choice. Still I wanted him to feel more connected to the story. Since Red was from Pallet I'd decided he'd be Tia's twin brother. A choice I made early on, but never really properly integrated. Still Red is a fun character and he'll be semi-reoccurring through Tia's Tales.<p> 


	70. Chapter 68: One Last Battle

Chapter 68: One Last Battle

It's dawn and today, the day has finally come. Tia's spent the last three days enduring harsh and grueling training all for this. She looks out at the ocean as she finishes her meditations. She sits beside her training partner and brother Red. At one of the highest points of the world.

"Well, it's time." Tia stands up and stretches once more. "Time to head to the Indigo Plateau. More importantly, shower when I get there."

Red laughs, "I wasn't going to say anything, but you were smelling pretty ripe." He waves his hand pretending to waft away the odor.

"Oh yeah, well you don't exactly smell like a bed of Roselia yourself." Tia jokes right back at him and sticks out her tongue.

"That's my natural musk. A man's smell."

"You are so full of it."

"Yeah, full of awesome." He laughs and stands up. "Well let's get going then." He calls out his Pidgeot.

"Wait you're coming with me?" Tia definitely didn't expect this.

"Why not? We're family. I want to see my sister's battle against the Elite Four." Tia hops on Skarmory and Red on Pidgeot. The two fly top speeds down Mt. Silver and land at the entry of the Indigo League building.

"Indigo Plateau. My old stomping ground." He misses the sight of it slightly. Still he doesn't regret what he did. "It's cool being back here. Living the life of a loner wasn't really doing it for me anymore."

Tia looks around. "I don't see Tom yet, I'm going to run in and borrow a shower."

Red follows suit, "I hear that." The siblings run inside hoping to clean up before taking on the Elite Four.

About a half hour later Tom teleports in. Tia had told him a time to arrive, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Weird, she told me to be here at this time?" He walks inside and checks the lobby. He spots a raven haired young man sitting on a couch and walks up to him. "Excuse me, has a girl named Tia shown up?"

Red turns and looks up at Tom, "I don't know? What does she look like?"

"She's a little shorter than me. Long hair, same colors as yours actually, and probably dressed like a Battle Girl. Big rack?" Tom hovers his hand over his chest.

Red laughs, "Ah I'm telling her you said that."

Tom is taken aback, "Wait you know her?"

"Yeah, I couldn't resist. You're Tom I'm guessing. She's still getting dressed." Red stands up and shakes his hand.

"Thanks and who are you?" Tom is thoroughly confused.

"I use to have your title if that narrows it down." Red leads Tom on a bit more.

"You were the league champion?" Tom admittedly didn't really know any of the previous champions.

"I'm from Palette Town." This was clearly not helping.

"Red are you being a pain again?" Tia walks down hearing his conversation.

"Always," He looks up to Tia and back at Tom. "Name's Red by the way."

"I got that," Tom chuckles. He pauses for a minute recalling the name. "Oh yeah, weren't you the league's youngest champion to date?"

"The one and only." He happily boasts

"So were you two friends back in Pallet Town?" That's what Tom really wants to know.

Tia explains, "He's my twin brother."

Now it was Tom's turn to be shocked. "Wow, now I know you've never mentioned him."

"Oh gee, I'm sorry. I know how open you are with me." Tia responds very sarcastically.

"Good point," he had no defense for this. "Where did you two meet up though?"

"Mt. Silver where I spent the last three days training." Tia proudly beams in her accomplishment.

Tom nods and is quite impressed by that. "Wow, that's pretty hardcore."

"Yeah she's really been training and working out too. Seriously, she hits like a truck." Red rubs an unintentional bruise on his arm from their training.

"Trust me, I know. Don't accidently walk in on her changing." Tom was still feeling that one and the one before that.

"Dude, that's my sister. I didn't need to hear that." He shakes his head unapprovingly. He's definitely more mature than Tom despite the jokes. "Is that how you broke your arm?"

"Hey I'm not _that_ aggressive." Tia defends herself. She does have self-control.

"You broke my arm when we were kids." Red points to his right arm.

"You fell out of a tree. How was that my fault?" She scoffs at his ridiculous accusations.

"You dared me to climb it."

"You were stupid enough to do it." She smirks and sticks out her tongue.

"I just love family reunions." Tom laughs as they bicker.

Red shrugs, "We've always been like this."

Tia chuckles, "Like that time you bet I couldn't drink a dozen Moo-moo milks. I won that bet." She puffs out her chest proudly.

"Yeah throwing up for the three hours. You sure showed me." The two laugh thinking back to their childhood.

"So what did your training involve Tia?" Tom figured battling her brother was a big part of it. Still he doesn't really know what kind of trainer he was.

"A lot of battling against Mew really. The rest of his team too. She's pretty good." Red boasts triumphantly. Tia is good, but Red was still better.

"Well are you ready to take on the Elite Four Tia?" Tom figures she's ready to get started after all her nonstop training.

Tia shakes her head, "There is something I need to do first." She heads out the entry and towards Victory Road.

"Why are we heading back to Victory Road sis?" Red is confused, but Tom quickly remembers what she was doing.

"One last battle with her rival." Tom informs Red while Tia leads the way. She looks stoic as she approaches the mouth of the tunnel. Tia is initially unnerved, but they don't have to travel too far in before they spot a wide open arena within the cave.

There stands two figures, Silver and Giovanni against the wall. Silver gives Tia a cocky grin, "I was wondering when you'd show up. Tom told me you'd be here so I made sure I was ready." Silver holds out arm with Pokeball in hand. "Now we can finally have that battle I kept promising."

Tia smiles and looks to Silver with a look of strength and determination. "That anxious to lose are you?" She steps onto the battlefield and stands opposite Silver drawing out her own Pokeball. "I've been waiting for this."

Tom and Red both walk over to the side with Giovanni. Tom is reluctant to say anything. Red however is all too talkative. "Hey Giovanni it's been forever man."

Giovanni's initially taken aback by the warm reception as well as seeing Red for the first time in years. "Red? It's been ages. How have you been?" He asks cordially.

"I've been good. Training and catching Pokemon mostly. So what brings you here?" Red leans against the rocks and speaks casually to Giovanni. Obviously oblivious to the whole Team Rocket situation.

"I could ask the same thing. I'm here with my son Silver." Giovanni knows Red is from Pallet, but his connection to Tia is still unknown.

"Cool, I didn't know you had a son." No surprise. "I'm here to see my sister take on the Elite Four and Mr. Champion over there." He motions to Tom.

"Sister? I had no idea you and Tia were related." Giovanni is once more surprised.

Red laughs, "Yeah, we're twins. I guess I never mentioned that I had a sister and she never mentioned I was her brother. Fun how things slip your mind sometimes."

Giovanni chuckles warmly for what seemed to him like the first time in an eternity. He was happy to talk with someone who didn't know about his stained past and can still see him as a friend. "You're just as talkative as ever."

Tia and Silver stare each other down and ready their Pokeballs. "I hope you're ready. I've trained a lot for this day." Silver smirks with a twinge of excitement.

Tia smiles happily at Silver. "You better hope it's enough. I've been training a lot too. So don't think you'll have an easy time."

"Same to you." Silver knows Tia is strong and he wants to be just as strong. Even if he can't quite reach her level yet. He'll still try his hardest. Silver has come a long way since the first leg of his adventure in Johto. The profound impact Tia had left on him is something he'll never forget. In the same regard Tia will never forget her experience with Silver and how they even had an effect on her as well.

Silver looks around at her company, "Who's he?" Silver's eyes fall on Red.

Tia chuckles, "My brother, don't worry." She is actually a little flattered Silver was potentially jealous.

"Does my sister have a thing for that guy?" Red gives Tom a sideways glance.

"Oh yeah, you should have her tell you about the time in the National Park." Tom winks and nudges Red's arm.

"Still my sister, dude." Red is unamused.

"And my son." As is Giovanni.

"What? It was just a kiss."

"Enough from the peanut gallery." Silver speaks up and waits for Tia to call out her first Pokémon. "You first,"

"Such a gentleman," she jokes and calls out her favorite opening Pokémon. "Go Togetic."

Silver smirks, "I knew it, go Golem!" Silver looks confident in his first choice. "Don't think you can beat me with the same old strategies you used before."

Tia cracks her knuckles. "Don't worry Silver, I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeves." Tia knows quite well that something like Ancient Power would be useless against Golem and even if Togetic did get the boosts, she wouldn't be able to Baton Pass out in time. "Light Screen." Tia takes the all-out defensive and casts up her first screen to minimize the damage for her incoming Pokémon.

"Golem use Stealth Rocks." Small, floating stones surround the battlefield and stay stationary as if they were waiting for something.

"Entry hazards, fun." Tia notes all the Stealth Rocks in play and decides now is as good a time as any to switch out. "Baton Pass. We need to get you out of there for now Togetic." She calls back Togetic and freely switches into her next Pokémon.

"What do you think she'll switch into? My best guess is Pupitar." Tom can't help analysis the battle.

Red shakes his head, "Knowing my sister she'll save that for last. Heracross is her only other real choice here."

As Red predicts, Tia calls out Heracross who is more than excited for a good battle. Though the Stealth Rocks quickly hone in and pelt Heracross doing some decent initial damage. Tia pays them little mind though. "Alright, let's get this over with quickly. Heracross, Close Combat." Heracross pumps his arms and flies directly towards Golem at incredible speeds.

All the training with Red and Mew really helped. Tia had to admit her brother's Pokémon training routine was even more cutthroat than Chuck's Adept training. She can certainly see now why he still stands as the youngest champion in the Indigo League's history. In less than a year's time he'd managed to claim the title. Not even Tom could say that. So Tia is ready with every strategy she could come up with when she battled Red.

Silver wasn't just sitting around either though. He smirks, "Rock Polish and roll out of the way." A shimmer of silvery lights strike against Golem as if polishing his stone body. The glamor of lights flash and Golem instantly speeds out of the way. Leaving Close Combat without a target. "Bulldoze!" Golem rolls up once more and charges towards Heracross.

"Nice try Silver, Heracross stop it with your Mega Horn!" Heracross bows his head and charges right towards Golem with a blinding speed of his own. The two Pokémon collide as Heracross holds it back. The Bulldoze does hefty damage, but Heracross manages to scoop up Golem in his horn. "Toss Golem into the air and use Swords Dance!" Heracross struggles and sweats, but eventually prevails and hurls Golem into the air. At the top of Golem's arc swords surround Heracross as he pumps his arms. "Now fly up and hit it with Close Combat!" Tia points triumphantly into the air.

"Bulldoze again if you can!" Not having the ground to work with Golem is at a huge disadvantage, but Silver is not content with letting Tia get free swings in on his Pokémon. Golem curls up and propels himself through the air. The two collide once more, but Heracross deflects a large amount of the damage with a punch to the ground from Close Combat. The two land once more and Silver is first to react. "Earthquake!" The ground around them and surface of the cave tremble.

Tia knows this is the last ditch effort on Heracross's part so she willingly lets Heracross takes the hit so this would work out perfectly. "Reversal!" Heracross's arms glow gold as he flies through the air towards Golem. The impact is immense and just as earth shaking as the Golem's attack. A direct hit. Golem collapses at last. Tia rubs a bead of sweat from her forehead fearing that might not have worked. "Good job Heracross."

Silver smiles. "You too Golem," he calls back his Pokémon and throws out his next choice, "Go Honchkrow."

"Well Heracross is toast." Red knows this is instantly a bad idea.

Tom is the one to correct him this time. "Don't count him out yet. Knowing Tia, she'll have some last resort to throw at Honchkrow."

Even Giovanni smiles, "Yes, that girl is quite resourceful. Especially with her back against the wall. Though Silver is smart enough to know this too. So it'll be interesting to see how these two react."

"Honchkrow Haze." Honchkrow caws and conjures a thick, cold haze that dowses the battlefield.

"Well there goes Swords Dance." Red remarks. Definitely the smart play on Silver's part, but he's more concerned with how Tia will react.

She acts rather unshaken by this. "That's fine, Heracross use Reversal." Tia hopes Silver will take the bait.

"Nice try, Honchkrow use Assurance." A direct attack is Silver's only real course of action, a ranged hit might work, but Heracross could just as easily block it.

Tia smiles and points towards Honchkrow. "Good, now Heracross dive down and turn." Heracross corkscrews through the air and launches himself under Honchkrow hitting her with a Reversal from below.

The hit connects, but Honchkrow is quick to correct herself and bats Heracross to the ground with Assurance. Instantly knocking out Heracross. Still Tia was more than happy with what damage she could do to Honchkrow. "Alright, next up is Skarmory." In a surprise play on Tia's part she decides to take Silver's Honchkrow on in the air. Skarmory is also rather unfazed by the sudden barrage of Stealth Rocks.

Red tilts his head in confusion. "Weird play on her part."

Tom shakes his head and smiles approvingly. "Oh you'll see why this was a good play soon." Tom knows what Red doesn't. Tia couldn't afford to have her Ampharos weakened when Feraligatr comes out.

"Use Shadow Ball before Skarmory can get close." Silver knows all too well how Skarmory acts in battle. Waits patiently and strikes when the time is right. Much like Tia. So the further Silver can keep Skarmory away the less likely Skarmory can deal damage effectively.

"Agility." Tia had a plan of her own already in the works so she happily has her Skarmory speed out of the way of the Shadow Ball, boosting his own speed in the process. "Now get in close with a Night Slade." Skarmory blazes through the air as his wings become shrouded in darkness. In a matter of seconds Skarmory flies towards Honchkrow and flaps his steel wings unleashing the darkness.

Honchkrow fights back with a quick Dark Pulse to neutralize the damage. The two attacks counteract one another leaving both Pokémon taking a small amount of residual damage. "Now Assurance!" Honchkrow doesn't miss a beat as it gets off an Assurance.

Tia's just as quick to react. "Air Slash!" Honchkrow flies through a whirlwind of sharp wind generated by Skarmory, but still gets its attack off successfully. Both Pokémon are looking rather beaten, but neither Tia nor Silver are ready to give up.

"Night Slash!"

"Dark Pulse!" Both are fighting with all their might now. Neither willing to give up. A truly intense match for both trainers, and it's not even half over. Both their Pokémon's all out offensives result in a double knock out sending Skarmory and Honchkrow careening to the ground.

"Weavile!" Silver already has his next Pokémon at the ready.

"Typhlosion!" It's time for Tia to call out her starter who pays little mind to the Stealth Rocks. The Pokémon she chose that started this all. Both trainers using their original Pokémon when this journey began.

"Nasty Plot," Silver doesn't want to run head first into a battle with Typhlosion so he sticks to his guns and boost his Special Attack first.

Tia has other plans, "Flame Charge! We need an all-out offensive if we want to get that Weavile." Typhlosion ignites in flames and runs towards Weavile. Tia knows that optimized his strategy for distance. The further away the less likely Tia will be able to hit it.

Still, Weavile is fast so hitting it with a straight forward charge like this will not prove to be very effective. Regardless, Tia keeps up the offensive pressure. "Ice Beam Weavile." Silver isn't afraid of getting Pokémon in too close, unlike what Tia thinks. It was rather helpful actually. An Ice Beam from point blank was almost certainly guaranteed to hit. A beam of icy, blue energy hits Typhlosion's left leg stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Lava Plume!" Molten lava swells up from around Typhlosion and splashes back at Weavile, seriously injuring him. What's more, the ice completely melts away. "Now Inferno!" Both are feeling the heat and sweating bullets.

"Man, my sis is pretty hardcore." Red applauds Tia's intense battling skills.

"She doesn't waste a single move that's for sure." Giovanni watches them both closely.

The Inferno surrounds Weavile, but Silver acts quickly having his Pokémon use an Icy Wind to protect himself from the burn. To little avail though. Tia seizes the opportunity and has Typhlosion Flamethrower through the Icy Wind. Melting the ice and knocking out Weavile. Typhlosion's were just too hot to handle for poor Weavile. Still he put up an amazing show against Tia's Pokémon.

"I know this has been what you've been waiting for. Go Feraligatr." Silver grits his teeth feeling the pressure now. Still his Water Type will easily be able to dowse Typhlosion's attacks.

"Return Typhlosion!" Tia calls back her starter, hoping to save him for the end and calls out her Ampharos who doesn't seem to enjoy the Stealth Rocks' initial damage.

Silver fully expecting this however, "Ice Fang Feraligatr!" Feraligatr charges towards Ampharos grabbing her by the neck and biting down hard.

"Discharge!" Instead of wasting energy to break free of Feraligatr's icy maw Tia instead opts to get some easy damage in. Feraligatr quickly lets go and swings wildly at Ampharos.

"Focus on Ampharos's movement and use Slash." Ampharos ducks and weaves with each oncoming Slash, but Silver doesn't give up.

Tia watches Feraligatr's moves carefully and spots and opening. "Ampharos, Feraligatr is about to swing low. Jump up!" As Tia predicted Feraligatr goes to sweep the legs with a low swinging Slash. Ampharos jumps into the air and over Feraligatr's head. "Electro Ball!" Ampharos does a front flip, three-sixty and bats a charged Electro Ball down onto Feraligatr's head with her tail. An explosion of energy hits Feraligatr while lands behind him. Amazingly though, Feraligatr does a one-eighty and slashes Ampharos, knocking her back.

Both Pokémon pant and stare each other down. Their trainers do much the same. "Discharge!" Tia shouts.

"Surf!" Feraligatr floods the arena with water as Ampharos discharges electricity all around herself.

Red laughs, "Well if Feraligatr goes down Silver's making sure to take Ampharos with him." Which was exactly the plan. The entire battlefield lights up in a blinding flash hitting Feraligatr as well as Ampharos with an enormous amount of electricity. Leaving both Pokémon fainted once more.

"These two are pretty evenly matched, I gotta say." Red's impressed how Silver's matching Tia blow for blow.

"Go Scizor!" It's coming down to the wire now.

"Come back out Typhlosion." This is what Tia was hoping for. She knew Scizor would be a bear to handle without Typhlosion. The second helping of Stealth Rocks did help the matter either though.

"Agility, we can't let that Typhlosion hit us." Silver knows Scizor is more about the attacking, but he also knows Scizor will agree this is the smarter move. Scizor wizzes through the air and flies high above Typhlosion. "Razor Wind." A whirlwind of razor sharp blades of air careen towards Typhlosion.

"Typhlosion Flamethrower!" Typhlosion stands his ground and shoots a huge burst of fire at Scizor. Scizor is much faster though.

Silver smiles triumphantly. "Sorry Tia, unless Typhlosion is secretly able to fly I doubt you'll be able to hit Scizor."

Tia stands laughing, "That's funny Silver." She sharpens her gaze and points to the ceiling of the cave. "Flame Charge Typhlosion. Then jump up." Typhlosion roars as he surrounds his body in flames. Typhlosion gets on all fours and runs up a large cluster of stones, using them as a jump off point, and leaping high into the air. Taking Silver and Scizor completely by surprise, Typhlosion nails Scizor with his attack and drags Scizor down with him. The two collide with the ground. Typhlosion pinning Scizor to the ground. "Flamethrower!"

"X-Scissor!" Scizor's razor sharp claws strike at Typhlosion's sides while being held down. While Typhlosion breathes violent flames on Scizor. The two continue the assault until the Flamethrower proved to be too much for Scizor and he finally faints. Silver concedes that one and calls out his final Pokémon. "Go Ursaring."

Typhlosion only had about one or two good hits left in him so Tia's determined to have him exit on a high note. "Flame Charge!"

Ursaring stoically stands her ground and grabs Typhlosion. The attack is stopped dead in his tracks. "Return." In a surprisingly brutal hit Ursaring's fist beats down Typhlosion without breaking a sweat.

Tia calls back her Pokémon and smiles and Silver. "You really love your Pokémon." Knowing only a Pokémon with a remarkable bond with its trainer could hit that hard. "Come back out Togetic."

Silver smiles too, "Thank you, but I'm not going to let you setup with Togetic. Bulk up!" Silver empowers Ursaring first and foremost.

"Light Screen, we'll need another one. Then Ancient Power!" Togetic quickly casts up a Light Screen and starts chucking rocks at Ursaring.

"Slash!" With a powerful sweep of her arm Ursaring destroys the rocks with little damage to herself. Still Tia counts herself lucky to get the boost.

"We probably won't get that lucky twice." She waits patiently to see what Silver's next move is.

"No, you won't. Hyper Beam!" Ursaring's gaping maw charges up a beam of energy before unleashing a powerful orange-yellow beam of energy.

"Togetic, dodge! Make sure that doesn't hit you!" Togetic flies up high to avoid the attack by all means. Thankfully, Togetic escapes in time. "Yeah, let's not get greedy and Baton Pass out while Ursaring recharges."

"The smart play." Tom nods.

Red smiles wide, "I would have totally gone for the second Ancient Power. Though T has the right idea."

Tia smiles confidently at her final Pokémon. "Well this is what you've been waiting for." She says to her Pokeball. She tosses it into the middle of the battlefield and shouts, "Go Tyranitar!" The mighty beast of a Pokémon emerges and roars loud, echoing throughout all of Victory Road. "Dark Pulse!" Tyranitar roars once more and unleashes a wave of dark energy all around. Demonstrating the fullest capability of a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.

Silver begins to sweat. "Slash Ursaring!" Ursaring once more slashes at Tia's attack, but the Sandstorm starts building from Tyranitar's ability. Sand buffers Ursaring and gets in her eyes. "Return!" Ursaring powers through and lays into Tyranitar. The attack may not be very effective, but still the damage is pretty substantial.

"Dark Pulse!" Tia shouts viciously with great intensity.

"Slash!" Ursaring digs into Tyranitar with her sharp and painful Slashes. Both batter and beat each other with great force. Repeatedly Dark Pulsing and Slashing.

Finally the two distance themselves and pant raggedly. Tyranitar and Ursaring looked like they could only take one more hit so Tia and Silver were determined to make them count.

"Tyranitar!"

"Ursaring!"

The two scream in unison, "Hyper Beam!" Their shouts echo throughout the entire cave. Tyranitar channels all his remaining power while Ursaring does the same. The two unleashes titanic strength in the form of two mighty beam of energy. The attacks collide and push back and forth on one another.

"Come on Ursaring!" Silver pushes Ursaring to put her all into this final attack. A war of attrition to be sure.

Tia grits her teeth and shouts. "Strength, determination, and willpower. Take all of it Tyranitar. Use all our Ki!" Tia closes her eyes and channels all her Ki into Tyranitar's attack. The final strike grows more and more. Finally, with one last push Tyranitar's Hyper Beam pierces through Ursaring's attack. Tyranitar's attack consumes Ursaring and finally finishes Silver's Pokémon.

Tia pants and heaves as she calls back Tyranitar. She turns to the guys and gives them a thumbs up. "We won!" As per usual Tia stumbles back, but Silver is quick to catch her.

"You know you don't have to nearly go unconscious every time you battle." Silver shakes his head and stabilizes her.

"Yeah Tia, I think you need to practice how to manage your big Ki bursts like that. Probably not good for your health." Tom walks up with the others.

"Still a pretty epic battle. You both battled amazingly. Big thumbs up for all your Pokémon. Especially that Feraligatr and Ursaring of yours Silver. Straight up vicious they were." Red grins with a wide toothy smile and puts his hands behind his head.

"He's right." Tia blushes as Silver let's go of her shoulders. "I was really worried for a minute there that I was going to lose." She turns to Silver and looks into his eyes.

He slowly wraps his arms around her pulling her into a warm hug. "I wouldn't have gotten so strong if it were thanks to you. Tia, you're the one I wanted to be able to beat and prove myself too. Looks like I still have a long way to go."

Tia's eye grow misty as she slowly puts her arms around Silver. "We'll have a rematch then someday. Maybe then, things will be different." She says meekly.

Silver nods, "Yeah, but I'm not going to lose next time."

"Me neither." Tia chuckles and looks right into Silver's eyes.

Giovanni notices the obvious signs and draws the guys' attention. "I say, look at this rock. I'm willing to bet it's a Pokémon fossil."

"No way!" Tom and Red turn towards Giovanni giving Tia and Silver the perfect chance for one last kiss. Their lips quickly meet and hold for a matter of seconds that felt like a lifetime in their hearts.

"I love you." Tia whispers.

Silver nods, "I love you too. Hopefully, someday it'll be truly the way I want to." Silver still has reservations in his heart. Doubts, insecurities, and damages. Still for her, he'll do all he can to fix them. "I won't ask you to wait for me, but I hope you do."

Tia nods as the two let go of one another. "For now, I'll happily wait." She says with a cheerful smile.

Red whines from behind them. "Ugh Gio, that's fossilized Pokémon poop!"

The two laugh as Tom turns around, "Well, maybe we'll meet again Silver." He shakes his hand.

"Look forward to it. Though, it'll be a while before I could challenge you, Mr. World Champion." He smirks and warmly shakes Tom's hand.

Giovanni is the next to speak up. He frowns and walks over to Tom. "I believe this is fair." He holds out his hands like he's being hand cuffed. "I know I can never really undo the damages I did, but if this somehow gets me on the road to recompense then I'll accept it."

"Dad," Silver whispers in amazement of Giovanni's selfless act.

Tom stares at Giovanni for a good while and finally shakes his head. "No, Silver's already lost you once. He shouldn't have to endure that again. It'll be a while, but I think you're on your way Giovanni."

He smiles as a single tear rolls down his cheek. "Thank you, Tom." He steps back and stands beside Silver.

"Well, we should get going." Silver is surprisingly already to go.

"Wait, you're leaving? What about the Elite Four?" Tia doesn't get why he'd come all this way and not challenge them.

Silver shrugs, "I don't really see what the point is. I don't need to beat them to get stronger. I have my own plans. Until we battle again. You better not lose to anyone in there." He briefly looks over at Tom. "Present company excluded."

Tom chuckles, "There ya go."

"Until next time," he waves and walks off into the cave.

"Well that was exciting. Guess you know what that means Tia?" Red points towards the exit.

"Yeah, finally time to take on the Elite Four!" She runs forward with the guys close behind. Her heart soaring with excitement and the energy to take on the Elite Four.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well that was the first six-on-six battle and who better for it to be with than Silver? That said this will not become a regular occurrence, but there will be more. Still only a handl full of chapters left at this point. Hoenn is just around the corner.<p> 


	71. Chapter 69: Golden Generation

Chapter 69: Golden Generation

Tia and the guys walk back into the main entry of the Indigo League and quickly heals her Pokémon before her final battles begin. She was so excited to finally be standing before the Elite Four. Her final test of Johto. This will be her crowning achievement. A challenge she is not about to lose.

Tia smiles anxiously, "I'm so ready." She steps up to the guard at the door.

"Welcome to the Indigo League, please present your eight gym badge." Tia produces her Johto badges and shows them to the guard. He checks each badge for authenticity and smiles, "Congratulations," he steps to the side and enters a code opening the large, double doors to the Elite Four. "You may go forth and face the elites." He notices Tia's company. He points to Red, "Are also wishing to challenge the Elite Four?"

Red chuckles and gives him a goofy grin, "Nah, I'm just spectating this time."

"I see. I'm sorry but we aren't allowed to let in spectators." This was standard protocol. Something neither he nor Tia knew. Even though Red himself once held the champion title.

Tom steps up, "It's fine; I'll allow it." Feeling all high and mighty about his title.

The guard gives Tom a look of confusion. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Tom's mouth hangs open in disbelief. "I'm the Indigo League Champion! Didn't Lance show you what I look like? How long have you worked here?"

"About a month. Also, Mr. Lance told me and I quote, 'The champion is an immature brat who frequently shirks his responsibilities in favor of traveling around the world' and that I should for no reason really bother learning who he is." Both Tia and Red burst out laughing.

Tom pulls out his X-Transceiver and dials up Lance. "Tom, I cannot talk right now. We were just informed that we've been initiated a challenge."

"Yeah I know, I'm standing out here at the entry with Tia and Red, and your guard won't let us in!" He shouts angry at the device.

"Well we have a strict no spectator policy. You know this." He chastises Tom knowing it's ruffling his feathers.

"I'm the damn champion I should be able to allow this!" He's half tempted to just walk past the guard and into the hall himself.

"I'm sorry did you say Red was there as well?" Lance seems to care more about that little detail than their major issue.

"Don't change the damn subject!" Tom is livid, this is no doubt Lance's very passive aggressive way of getting back at Tom for all the irresponsible behaviors he's demonstrated in the past.

"Fine, hand the guard your X-Transceiver." Tom hands it off to the confused guard.

"Hello?" He pauses as Lance informs him of the situation. "Yes. I see. Yes, Mr. Lance." He hands the device back to Tom and bows his head, "I'm so sorry Mr. Champion. Please, Tia and her company are free to pass through."

"Thank god," Tom rolls his eyes and passes by with Tia leading the way.

"You sound like a real bang up champ." Red shoots Tom a cheeky grin and snickers.

"Shut up, I'm not immature," he says pouting the whole time. "By the way, which one of you two is older?"

Red shrugs, "T's got me by like two minutes."

"Really? If I had twins I'd mess with them and not tell them which one's older." Tom laughs to himself. Clearly the only one finding it humorous.

They finally reach the end of the hall to an even larger ornate door which open on them into a large, decorative room. Inside is a very eccentric design. Purple titled floor, a seemingly bottomless void of black beneath, and strange cube projects floating around the arena. In the center stands a man with a black masquerade ball mask, deep purple hair, and very formal looking clothes.

Red looks around the arena. "Wow, they've definitely renovated a lot since I was champ. Where's Lorelei?" The league had gone through quite a few changes since Red left that he wasn't away of.

The man speaks up, "I'm afraid she's retired from her position. I am now the first of the Indigo League's Elite Four." He bows like he were performing on stand. "I am Will."

Tia smiles and cracks her knuckles, "Awesome, so you're my first opponent. I'm so ready for this."

Will chuckles, "Today's youth." He smiles nostalgically as if remembering when he was that age. Though he is only five years older than Tia. "It's wonderful to see so many spirited trainers in our generation. The stories are certainly true. Living proof before my very eyes."

Tia tilts her head, "What are you talking about?"

Will chuckles once more and extends out his hand, loudly proclaiming. "Why the Golden Generation of course!" He says with such bravado and enthusiasm.

"What's the Golden Generation?" Tia asks while Tom and Red remain awkwardly silent.

Will seems surprised. "You've really never heard?" He's more than happy to fill her in. "We live in a golden age of Pokémon training. New, stronger trainers are being born every day. Surely you've noticed all the legendary Pokémon being captured." He looks to Tom, "Though certain agents are doing their best to cover it up. Regardless, the quality of trainers have increased dramatically over the past several decade. Your parents: the Silver Generation. Your grandparents: the Bronze Generation. For that matter, your children will be a part of the Platinum Generation people predict."

"So wait. You're saying that each generation is producing stronger and stronger trainers?" This is definitely news to Tia. Also explains why so many trainers she knows that are roughly her age have legendary Pokémon.

Will nods, "Yes, though it will plateau eventually. Still the standards of trainers and Pokémon battling is ever increasing. The older generations are struggling to keep up with the newer generations. I see two perfect examples of that right in front of me. Possibly three." He looks to Tom and Red before glimpsing at Tia.

Tia looks back at Tom, "Why haven't you ever mentioned this?"

Tom isn't quite sure how to respond. He wasn't deliberately withholding from Tia, but he also never wanted to bring it up around her. Thankfully, Will answers for him. "Just because you're a part of this Golden Generation does not mean it is your birthright. Many trainers all over the world still struggle to keep up with their peers and even trainers younger than themselves. One's linage does play a role though." Will's explanation does make a lot of sense. A lot of the stronger trainers Tia's met have been children of gym leaders. Plus, her own father being a Frontier Brain.

"That's why I never brought it up. I didn't want that to effect the way you think about trainers." Tom defends his actions. This time genuinely not just hiding information from her, because he didn't want to talk about it.

"I understand, but strength, determination, and willpower are all I need to be a good trainer. Not some legacy to live up to." Tia has her own motivations and skills to drive her to be better.

Will laughs harder, "This coming from the prodigy. I'd say child prodigy, but from everything I've heard you've only been a trainer for just under a year. What's more you're an Adept from all that strength and willpower talk. You and Bruno will get along swimmingly. Granted you can beat me."

Tia smiles and shakes her head, "Oh I'll beat you. Not because of this Golden Generation nonsense, but because I have set my sights on the top and nothing will stand in the way of that."

"Confident, I respect that. Now let us begin. Go Xatu!" Will gracefully calls out his first Pokémon.

"Go Ampharos. Let's not waste any time here." Tia is suddenly cut off by Will.

"Me First." He smiles and snaps his fingers. Xatu's arms flap back and forth as it stands stationary on the ground. It raises its wings as gems form around him. "Oh Power Gem, exciting." The gem fly towards Ampharos.

Tia has to think fast so she matches Xatu blow for blow. "Ampharos use Power Gem as well!" Ampharos holds her arms up as floating gems manifest and fly towards Xatu's own gems.

The two attacks collide and cancel each other's out. "Confuse Ray." Will extends out his hand out in a sweep motion. Xatu once more flaps his wings and sends a distorted wave of psychic energy at Ampharos. Ampharos was not nearly fast enough to avoid it though, rendering Tia's Pokémon utterly confused.

"Ampharos try to shake it off and use Power Gem again." Tia hopes she's able to reach out to Ampharos in her confused state. Thankfully, Ampharos is able to concentrate and send off an attack towards Xatu. Will's a little frustrated by this as Xatu takes the hit, but he continues his offense with a Psychic. "Get out of the way Ampharos!" Though Ampharos is a bit too confuse to avoid this hit. The Psychic connects and blasts Ampharos back.

"I must say you're quite a bit more skilled than I'd originally anticipated." Will claps.

"This is nothing. Ampharos charge and use Discharge." Tia smirks as a plan forms in her mind.

"Oh going for an up close and personal fight?" Will snaps his fingers and orders other Psychic from Xatu.

Tia keeps up her confident grin. "Let's see how well this works. Jump!" Tia knows that a Pokemon using Psychic needs to focus on a target before firing off so hopefully breaking line of sight temporary will disrupt the attack. Xatu trains its sights dead ahead on Ampharos and readies to fire. Tia's quick thinking pays off however, Ampharos jump high into the air and just above Xatu before using Discharge and putting a stop to Xatu.

"Very clever, now go Jynx." Will immediately sends out his next Pokemon.

"Return Ampharos, got to get rid of that confusion. Now, go Typhlosion!" Tia calls out her starter knowing a pure Fire Type would be optimal against a foe like Jynx. "Flame Charge Typhlosion!" Typhlosion roars, gets on all fours, and runs forward in a blaze.

"Ice Punch Jynx." Will snaps and points to Typhlosion with a confident grin. Jynx raises her right hand and consumes it in a glowing blue and white aura. As Typhlosion charges towards Jynx, she aims right for Typhlosion. The two attacks collide causing a massive burst of steam to come off as the two attacks counteract one another. The flames neutralize most of the attack while Jynx's icy fist negates most of the damages from Flame Charge. Amongst the mist Will has Jynx attack. "Lovely Kiss Jynx." He hopes the misty overcast would make it hard for Tia to see and effectively counter.

Tia simply, "Maybe you and Bruno should talk more." She closes her eyes and focus exclusively on Typhlosion and Jynx. She stills her breathing and clears her mind. With her eyes close all she can see in blackness and the two faint presences. "Typhlosion duck now!" Typhlosion drops on all fours as Jynx tries to Lovely Kiss him. "Lava Plume!" Typhlosion roar as lava erupts from his black hitting Jynx dead on. The intense heat instantly dissipates the steam. All that remains is the sight of Typhlosion surrounded by a pool of molten lava and a fainted Jynx. Tia smirks and opens her eyes, "Too easy."

Will claps and laughs aloud, "Very good, I certainly didn't see that one coming. Well this is definitely more exciting now. Go Slowbro!"

Tia smirks, "Drawing back out my Ampharos are you? Okay I'll bite." Ampharos may be a bit weaken, but Tia wasn't going to risk keeping Typhlosion out against a Water Type. Especially not an Elite Four member's Water Type. Ampharos comes back out looking excited and no longer confused.

"Amnesia Slowbro." Slowbro looks completely zoned out with a simple smile on his face as he begins to glow. Tia can definitely tell Slowbro lives up to his name. As Ampharos generates a ball of electricity which Ampharos bats at Slowbro with her tail. Slowbro takes the attack with little care as the Amnesia helps absorb a large portion of the damage.

"Slowbro's pretty bulky it looks like. Alright Ampharos give Slowbro a Discharge!" Tia's definitely all fired up now.

Will nods, "Water Pulse." A unleashes a wave of water from all around it colliding with Ampharos Discharge. The water conducts all the electricity and lights up the Water Pulse like a ring of light. Will and Slowbro definitely proved they can play to their weaknesses. "Psychic." Ampharos was too taken off guard by the last deflection to react in time leaving her open to Slowbro's attack.

"Power through it Ampharos, run in close and use another Discharge." This was a risky play. She knows her previous strategy to avoid Psychic wasn't going to work and a Water Pulse to very well cancel it out once more, but Tia's got a plan.

"Psychic again." Will knows if Ampharos tries to move he'll be prepared this time. It's a predictable strategy, but he expects a bit more out of Tia.

"Perfect, Discharge now!" Ampharos wasn't yet in range to hit Slowbro, but Tia commands Ampharos to use it regardless. This was the key to her strategy. The bright flash of light from Discharge makes it impossible for Slowbro to see and more important, react. Ampharos charges through the Discharge and leaps into the air. "Electro Ball!" Ampharos generates an Electro Ball and swats it at Slowbro's head faster than he could think to see it coming. Ampharos lands behind Slowbro proudly as he falls flat on his face.

Will smiles, "I must say that was a very clever use of Discharge. Come on out Exeggutor." Will already anticipates Tia calling out her Typhlosion once more. "Let us start with a Reflect." He casts up a nice barrier while Tia switches out.

"Alright Typhlosion, let's go!" Back to her starter and Tia's feeling confident. With over half of Will's team down she can start focusing on being more aggressive and less on worrying about keeping her Pokémon up. "Flamethrower Typhlosion." She still opts to keep her distance and assess her opponent instead of going in and potentially wasting Typhlosion.

Will is quick to counter. "Hypnosis." As Typhlosion readies to attack Exeggutor sends off a wave of exhausting energy which puts Typhlosion to sleep on the spot. "Now Egg Bomb." Exeggutor takes his sweet time lining up multiple Egg Bombs which land dead center of Tia's sleeping Typhlosion. Will watches this all unfold as Tia does the same. "Not switch out are we?"

Tia shakes her head, "No, because I know one hit will be all I need." After fair number of hits Typhlosion rises to his feet and roars angrily.

"Well, I can't say I anticipated him surviving that barrage of Egg Bombs. No matter." Will is impressed by Tia's Pokémon's resilience.

"Flame Charge!" Typhlosion erupts into flames and plows right into Exeggutor knocking him out in a single powerful blow.

"Not going to lie, I was really fighting a losing battle with that one. Alright then, last Pokémon. Go Xatu!" Will calls out one last Xatu.

"I'll keep Typhlosion in." Tia has faith her starter will be able to handle this last one just fine.

Tom and Red look on eagerly. "You know this Elite Four member better than I do. What's she up against?"

Tom watches Will closely, "He's going to make her work for this one for sure. I'll be surprised if Typhlosion survives this one. Even Ampharos will have a run for her money."

"Inferno!" Typhlosion draws upon all the heat from within and unleashes a huge burst of fire at Xatu.

"Aerial Ace!" Will has Xatu take to the skies and jet right over the Inferno hitting Typhlosion with his powerful wings. "Confuse Ray." Acting quick Xatu manages to blast a distorted ray of energy at Typhlosion leaving him confused and staggered. "Aerial Ace." Xatu's speed is incredible and tearing into Typhlosion like he was nothing.

Tia concentrates and hopes Typhlosion will be able to snap out of this. "Typhlosion, you have to snap out of this! Inferno!" Amidst the confusion Typhlosion manages to come back to his senses and tries his sights on Xatu. Another mighty burst of fire comes from Typhlosion's maw. This time hitting Xatu and burning him.

Xatu was still far from down. Especially after revealing to have a Sitrus Berry to heal himself with. "Get back and give Typhlosion an Ominous Wind." Xatu retreats as the burn damage sinks in. Xatu stand stationary like Will's first one and releases a howling, dark wind right towards Typhlosion.

"Flame Charge left Typhlosion." Surprisingly Tia takes the defensive approach. Avoiding the Ominous Wind and putting more distance between Typhlosion and Xatu. "Flamethrower!" Typhlosion breathes a flurry of fire towards Xatu.

"Aerial Ace!" Will smiles knowing this will surely be the last blow.

Tia also smiles, "Perfect. Stand your ground Typhlosion!" As Xatu draws closer Tia knows exactly what it is she will have to do. "Lava Plume!" Without any time to react a burst of lava explodes out from Typhlosion's back and blasts hitting Xatu point blank. Rendering him unconscious.

Will pauses for a second, "Well I'll be. Well played Tia. Well played indeed. I concede. You've bested me and my team. You may move onto to the next room." He snaps his fingers causing the large set of doors behind him to open to the next hallway. "I wish you luck in your next match."

Tia nods, "Thank you. Come on guys. I'm not going to waste a second getting to this next match." She calls back Typhlosion and walks past Will. Red and Tom do the same.

"Champion, former champion." He politely bows as they pass. "If what I have heard about her is true then I look forward to seeing her standing alongside you both as an equal in the near future." He giggles and lets them go.

Tom isn't too surprised that Will saw her true potential. He's always had an eye for spotting truly talented trainers. "I guess I was right to choose her as my rival."

Red laughs, "It's almost hard to believe that Tia could become such a strong trainer. She was so hyperactive and impatient as a kid I didn't think she could ever become a trainer period." He still can hardly believe that the young woman standing before him is the same sister who never even wanted to be a trainer growing up. She's changed so much in such a short time it seems. Tia's calling really was to be a trainer. This no one can deny.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. One down four to go, Johto's been going on for a long time and I glad to see how far it's come and excited for Hoenn. It'll be nice taking a break for big five-on-six battles for a while I'll tell you what. Still these next battles will be exciting.<p> 


	72. Chapter 70: Adept Vs Adept

Chapter 70: Adept Vs. Adept

The three make their way down the hall towards the next challenge Tia had to face. Bruno, the Fighting Type member of the Elite Four. Tia knew she couldn't go into a battle against him and expect it to be easy. So she made sure to fully heal her Pokémon before passing through the doors. The large doors slowly open as they approach, unleashing a heat wave that practically made them sweat on contact. Tia doesn't waver though, she walks in confidently.

The interior resembled more of a foundry. With two huge tubs of molten metal, bubbling pools beneath a narrow bridge leading to the center stage. Both Tom and Red remove their jackets, but Tia was already in bike shorts and her sports bra so she did her best to shrug off the heat. She does take her long, black hair and tie it into a pony tail to alleviate some of the heat.

In the center of the arena is a man sitting stoically with his eyes closed. Red cocks his head. "Is Bruno asleep?" Red does remember him from his first time challenged the elites all those years back.

"I'm pretty sure he's meditating." Tom says under his breath to Red.

His speaks up with his deep, booming voice. "I sense three have entered my chamber. Two, I'm all too familiar with and a third burning with passion."

Tia stands opposite him on her side of the battlefield and speaks confidently. "That would be me. My name is Tia and I am here to challenge you."

Bruno smirks with his head sunk low. "Your Ki is alive with energy. Many trainers don't know the untapped potential within themselves flowing like a river in their bodies."

Tia quietly sits down and mediates as well. She focuses in on Bruno's abundance of Ki. He was a true Adept for sure. "You have more Ki than I do. You must have trained for years to acquire that much reserved Ki."

Bruno smiles, "Could it be that I'm in the presence of another Adept?"

Tia smiles, "I don't know? You tell me." She pulls out her Pokeball and extends out her left arm. She breathes in and steadies her breath. Redirecting a portion of her Ki to her left hand.

Bruno chuckles to himself softly. "Well as I live and breathe. Who taught you?" He opens his eyes and stands up. Getting his first real glimpse of Tia.

"That would be Chuck. He says I'm his star pupil." Tia stands up herself and realizes now just how tall Bruno was. A daunting six and a half feet tall at least. With very toned muscles and abs.

Bruno nods approvingly. "I know Chuck well. He and I trained for years together striving to get stronger. He was content with staying on his island, but I sought to explore this world and eventually returned to take the position in the Indigo League Elite Four." He scans Tia up and down thoroughly. "If there is one thing I know about Chuck that is unfaltering. He would never lie about one's abilities. So I look forward to battling his star pupil." He holds out a Pokeball and calls out his first Pokémon. "Let's battle, go Hitmontop!"

Tia crackles her knuckles and grins from ear to ear. "This will be exciting. Go Heracross." Tia leads off with her own Fighting type.

Bruno holds up his hand before she calls out a command. "Tia, I have a proposal for our battle."

Tia looks a bit confused. "A proposal? What kind?" Did he have some sort of special condition or circumstance he liked battling under?

"It's simple really. We'll battle, but our Pokémon will use none of their moves. An all-out war of skill and attrition. The stronger Pokémon will be decided by their own fortitude and willpower. Not their moves. I guess this would be more liken to a fight between martial artists." Bruno gives a strong, but kind smile. This would be both a challenge and quite a fun way to have a Pokémon battle.

"That sounds like an awesome idea. Don't you think so Heracross?" Tia looks to her Pokémon who in turn pumps his arms excitedly.

"Wonderful, Hitmontop spin and kick Heracross." Hitmontop was still a power house kicker even without moves like Triple Kick so Tia and Heracross still had to think on their toes.

"Heracross Fly over Hitmontop and strike him from behind." Heracross does just this and aims to punch Hitmontop off kilter.

"Not going to happen." Hitmontop stops spinning on a dime and bounces off his head onto his legs. "Kick!" Hitmontop's foot meets Heracross's fist.

"Grab tight Heracross!" Heracross refuses to let go of Hitmontop's foot, putting him in a vulnerable position.

"Spin Hitmontop." With his foot still caught Hitmontop manages to muscle the strength to turn back on his head and starts spinning, whirling Heracross around in the process.

Tia notices the circular motion and gets an idea. "Heracross spread your wings and try to stop Hitmontop's rotation." Heracross's wings flutter and act as a wind breaker, slowing down Hitmontop's rotational movement. "Now lift him up!" Heracross muscle up his strength and takes Hitmontop airborne. "Now toss him down!" Heracross whirls Hitmontop around before throwing him to the ground. Heracross quickly flies down with a rapid drop kick.

"Grab it!" Bruno shouts as Hitmontop stands. He grabs Heracross's leg and processes to toss Heracross around like a rag doll before throwing him clear across the arena.

"This is a pretty hardcore battle." Red spectates while Tom nods anxiously.

"With a solid strategy and good moves Tia would have this match locked up, but without powerful attacks this is really anyone's game." Tom too is starting to sweat from more than just the heat.

"Spin to Heracross once more and kick him over and over until this is over." Hitmontop was fast enough that Heracross cannot recover properly in time.

Tia begins to worry this is the end for Heracross. Then Tia had a brilliant idea. "Oh course, I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner. Heracross remember out battle with Whitney?" Tia smiles triumphantly.

Heracross looks at her as the idea dawned on him too. Heracross grin and gives Tia a thumbs up. As Hitmontop rapidly spins towards him, Heracross remains on all fours and lowers his head. Unknowingly setting Hitmontop into his trap. Hitmontop spins right into Heracross's horn prompting Tia to respond. "Good, now launch! Let it rip!" Heracross launches the spinning top of a Pokémon into the air and quickly flies up after him. Heracross punches Hitmontop midair and at the top of Hitmontop's arc kicks him down to the ground.

Hitmontop collides to the ground and lies barely conscious. Still Bruno was content with this. He laughs, "I must say that was a truly impressive strategy Tia. I haven't had a battle this exciting in quite a while. Now go Hitmonlee!"

The kicking fiend wastes no time running forward and getting a few good flying kicks in on Heracross. Hitmonlee is far faster than Hitmontop. His astounding speed takes Heracross off guard and results in a few brutal kicks. Still Heracross wasn't going to cave so easily. After all the training they endured on Mt. Silver both climbing the mountain and battling Tia's brother, he was not about to lose.

With a quick roundhouse kick from Hitmonlee, Heracross goes flying, but he uses this too his advantage. Heracross's wings emerge and flies above Hitmonlee. Bruno scoffs however, "Hitmonlee is not afraid of an airborne opponent." Hitmonlee crouches down and jumps like a spring into the air.

Tia smirks and nods, "That's what we were hoping for." Instead of being surprised by Hitmonlee's incredible jumping skills. Tia learned from her past confrontations with Chuck. "Master tried this on us before. So I learned a pretty good counteraction." Heracross balls his fist and cups it in his other hand. As Hitmonlee flies up Heracross brings down his fists and bats Hitmonlee on the head and back down to the arena floor.

Hitmonlee is far from down and out though. Which, much to Tom and Red's surprise, warrants a laugh from Bruno. "Absolutely brilliant!" Neither had ever seen him laugh before, especially not as hard as he was in this moment. "Still we're far from beat here." Hitmonlee waits for Heracross to land before unleashing another fury of kicks.

Heracross once more takes the defense and awaits an opening. With one swift grasps Heracross grabs hold of Hitmonlee's leg and starts whirling him around. Momentum builds as Heracross spins faster as her whirls Hitmonlee around, eventually letting him go and throwing him towards the wall. Though to Heracross and Tia's surprise Hitmonlee flips midair and lands with his feet against the wall. Quickly pushing off of it and transferring all that energy into a mighty bounce back. Hitmonlee does another midair flip and kicks Heracross with a truly brutal flying kick.

With that Heracross collapses, "You did great Heracross. Now, let's shown them what're really made of." Tia looks back to Red and Tom and winks. "Go Tyranitar!"

Bruno nods, "Very impressive." Hitmonlee doesn't seem shaken though. The air around them grows drier as a Sandstorm kicks up. Bruno looks around and shrugs, "Well, I guess we can't prevent that ability." The sand buffers Hitmonlee, but it does little in the grand scheme of things. "Well Hitmonlee, let's show this Tyranitar what we're really made of." Hitmonlee charges forward with a flurry of kicks. The strikes are strong and numerous, but Tyranitar did not back down.

Tyranitar guards the oncoming kicks and punches back at Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee then jumps and aims for the head. A mighty blow that was perfectly intercepted. Tyranitar stops the kick with his hand and smiles with a sinister grin before flailing Hitmonlee around like a ragdoll. Before release and throwing to the ground in front of Bruno. "Next," Tia giggles.

Bruno nods, "I'm sure you're expecting this. Hitmonchan!" He calls out the last of the Fighting Type trio. Hitmonchan comes punching out of the gate. His fists of fury ready to pummel Tyranitar, but Tia wasn't about to let that happen. Hitmonchan punches away as Tyranitar catches and dodges punches. "You and your Tyranitar are in perfect sync." He notes as he closes his eyes and meditates on the battle. He sees their Ki almost gelling. Like Tia's own energy was slowly pouring into Tyranitar, empowering her Pokémon.

Tia closes her eyes and mimics Bruno, "Our training and friendship is built on trust and confidence in each other. All my Pokémon and I battle as one with all our hearts. I can tell you are too." Tia could see the same thing Bruno does.

"That's what separates an Adept from the Empaths. We create this field of energy that bonds with our Pokémon. An unspoken pact of strength and determination." Bruno explains it very elegantly.

To which Tom nods. "That true?" Red asks.

"Yeah, an Empath has an unspoken emotional connection with the world around them and use that to their advantage. Taking in emotions and even in some cases speaking almost telepathically with their Pokémon through their emotions." Every Empath is different in one way or another, but it seemed to him Adepts are pretty universal in their abilities. It was their capabilities that separated them.

"Hitmonchan, put all your energy into this one punch." He was going for a Hail Mary, an all or nothing attack.

Tia smiles, "Tyranitar I want you to match his strength and then double it!" Tyranitar roars holds up his arms. In flash the two Pokémon run head on with their arms pulled back, really to clash. Hitmonchan leaps forward as Tyranitar lunges into the punch. Their fists collide in what feels like an explosion of energy. The two Pokémon stand motionlessly with their fists connected in a single overwhelming attack. Tyranitar staggers and Hitmonchan falls.

Both look pretty surprised, but Tyranitar stands triumphant. "You and Tyranitar have a lot of mettle. You know that? Go Machamp!" Bruno's large, four armed Pokémon emerges flexing all of his muscles. "This will be your last opponent. I figure fighting off an Onix without any attacks would be a bit unfair to you. Plus, this is a fight, not your traditional battles."

Tia nods, "This will be plenty challenging too. We'll have to watch out for all those arms Tyranitar." With a huge leap Machamp flies into combat with Tyranitar. His four arms punching furiously. Far too many for a Pokémon like Tyranitar to avoid. Tia's Pokémon was definitely on the ropes, but that just made the two of them want to push back harder. "Remember Tyranitar this isn't just a battle. This is a fight to the top and we can't afford to lose." This rousing speech gets Tyranitar all fired up and starts punching back and eventually grabbing hold of Machamp's two upper arms. While the two lower one continue attacking. This is when Tia thinks of Machamp's biggest weakness. "Sweep the legs!" Tyranitar's legs aren't very long, but he manages to kick Machamp's legs out from under him causing him to topple over from his own weight.

Tia knew Machamp was a bit top heavy so getting him on the ground was the best position to strike from. Still Bruno and Machamp aren't giving up without a fight. His arms reach and grab trying to pull Tyranitar down too, but Tia knew not to fall for that ploy. So Tyranitar leaps on Machamp and starts pummeling him that way.

Machamp's mighty arms reach up and start to wrap around Tyranitar. "Tyranitar slip out of it!" Tyranitar quickly gets off of Machamp and leaps back. Machamp himself hops back to his feet looking a little worse for wear. "Charge in head first!" Tyranitar runs at him with Machamp at the ready to intercept any punches or kicks.

Although, this was not Tia's strategy. When she said head first Tyranitar knew what to do. He charged in and collides with Machamp's chest with a mighty head butt. Bruno once more laughs with a full and hearty laugh. "Well that was a quite literal command right there. I will give you credit for that one." Machamp staggers, but his legs do not cave. "Don't think that'll work twice."

Tia nod, "Oh we've still got tricks up our sleeves yet." Tyranitar takes the opportunity to close the gap and thrusts himself into close range combat with Machamp. Machamp's four arms are still a huge concern, but Tia's not about to get discouraged about this fact. Rather she sees it as an opportunity to finish this battle. "Run behind him, Tyranitar!" Tia's Pokémon does just this and makes haste around Machamp. Still Bruno wasn't worried. Tyranitar quickly wraps his arms around the torso as Machamp reaches behind and grabs Tyranitar. "Alright Tyranitar, I need you to muster up all your strength and lift Machamp!"

Bruno's eyes widen. "Well this was not at all what I was expecting."

Red laughs, "Seriously? A suplex?" Tyranitar grins as he arches his back and slowly lifts Machamp. Once off the ground Tyranitar takes his opponent and flings his body over his shoulder. Tyranitar bends over backwards and smashes the top of Machamp's head against the floor and knocks him out.

Bruno stares in awe for a few seconds, "That was an amazing match with a remarkable finish. Congratulations. You've more than earned the right to move on to your third Elite Four match."

Tia jumps for joy and calls back Tyranitar. She looks at her Pokeball, "You need to rest, your next opponent will be Lance." Confident that she'll be able to make it all the way. Tia walks up to Bruno and bows respectfully. "Thank you, Bruno. This was enlightening. Next time I see Chuck, I'll tell him hello for you."

Bruno bows himself, "I would appreciate this. You are a true Adept and Ki Master. You've learned well and I look forward to hearing about your future growth."

Tia nods and grins ear to ear. "Maybe sometime I can come back and show you how much stronger I got."

Bruno chuckles, "I will hold you to that." The two bow once more and Tia walks past him with a renewed vigor. She's is ready for her next challenge and she's facing it head on.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. So this was a shorter chapter, but I really liked the approach of this battle. No moves is definitively a unique way to have a Pokemon battle in a storied sense. This and the next couple are going to be a lot short since it'll just be the one-on-one battles. Still I was glad to be able to give Bruno the chance to really show off his character. The Elites, especially in gen one and two didn't have much in the way of character so I thought this was a nice change of pace.<p> 


	73. Chapter 71: In the Dark

Chapter 71: In the Dark

Tia and the others advance towards her next challenge. The doors are even more ornate than the last two, made from a darker wood with detailed carvings of Dark Type Pokémon. The doors open as the previous did revealing a darker room with a shimmering purple tiled floor. Along the sides black crystals stick out of the void below which are faintly illuminated by the low light in the room.

"They definitely take their design aesthetics very literally." Red remarks noticing the obvious, heavy handed dark theme of room.

"Well it's certainly better than the original bland layouts that were here before." A woman's voice comes from the center of the room. A silvery blue haired woman in the center walks forward revealing herself. Her hair is long, extending all the way down her back. Dressed in a yellow tank top and white capris. She looks to Tia, "So you're the trainer I've heard so much about. I look forward to testing your strength against my Dark Types." She grins confidently as if she's already won.

Tia nods, "This will be interesting for us both I'm sure. You're the third member of the Elite Four, which means only you and Lance stand between me and him." She points back to Tom. "So I have no plans on losing to you."

Karen scoffs, "Nor I to you. Let's begin. Go Umbreon!" Karen leads in with her Dark Eeveelution. A Pokémon Tia knows has a lot of defenses behind it.

Tia thinks carefully of who her first choice will be. "Go Togetic!" Tia figures opening with Togetic would be a good lead in due to Umbreon's defensive nature. "Light Screen."

Karen smirks, "I see your plan. Double Team Umbreon." Umbreon runs around Togetic creating several after images. "Confuse Ray." Karen intends to get Togetic confused before she can do much else.

"Ancient Power!" Tia wasn't sure who to hit so she figures aiming for a wide area will most likely hit, the damage will be reduced, but that wasn't her concern either way. The attack goes through right as Togetic takes the Confuse Ray.

Luckily enough for Tia and Togetic, she hits Umbreon after breaking a few after images. The damage is again minimum, but she got the stat boost so that's all Tia could ask for. Karen smiles, "Serene Grace?" She points out Togetic's incredibly handy ability.

Tia nods, "That and a bit of luck." She gives Karen a thumbs up and a cheesy grin. "Let's try that again Togetic!"

"Your sister is really stupidly lucky, you know that?" Tom can definitely attest to this.

Red rolls his eyes, "Don't even get me started. She's the only person I know who can consistently win at those rigged crane games. Plus we had this Gachapon machine in Viridian City. I swear, without fail she'd always get the rarest figures and she'd torture me and Gary over them. Until we traded what was clearly way more than what it was worth for them."

Karen giggles to herself, "My, you are evil aren't you?"

Tia rolls her eyes, "That's enough from the peanut gallery." Togetic goes for the attack, which while still dazed manages to get off the attack. Surprisingly, Umbreon takes the hit. Which does not get the boost Tia hoped for.

Karen gives Tia a sinister grin. "Time for a little Payback." Umbreon attacks the confused Togetic who is still too dazed to avoid the attack. The attack is pretty substantial, but Togetic hangs in there.

"Let's Baton Pass now." Togetic, still dazed tries to attack, but instead hits herself in the process. This makes Tia sweat a bit. "Come on Togetic we can't lose that boost." She crosses her fingers. "Baton Pass!"

"Faint Attack." Karen snaps her fingers and points to the confused Togetic. Thankfully, just in the nick of time Togetic switches out. The attack misses right as Togetic retreats back to her ball.

Tia sighs, "That was close. Go Skarmory!" It was Skarmory's time to shine now. He emerges and quickly takes to the sky. "Start off with Agility." Tia takes the safe approach and preps Skarmory while she's still able too. So the addition plus to Speed on top of everything else is helpful.

"Double Team again Umbreon." Umbreon runs around creating more after images leaving Tia once more guessing which one is the real Umbreon.

Tia's not dissuaded however. She smiles, "Metal Sound." Skarmory lets out a loud cry that echoes through the room. Umbreon shutters as his Special Defenses lower. Tia snaps her fingers, "Air Slash!" Skarmory floats above all the Umbreon and starts flapping his wings. Blades of air cut through and knock out image after image until Umbreon is finally hit.

Umbreon is on the ropes now, but Karen is not about to give up. "Jump into the air and Faint Attack!" A risky play, but she hopes to at least get some damage off on Skarmory.

Tia looks up to Skarmory confidently. "We know what to do." Skarmory looks down and nods. Umbreon leaps into the air as Skarmory dives down. Skarmory's wings become coated in a black veil of energy as the two are about to collide. Umbreon slashes with his paws, but Skarmory's superior aerial abilities win out. Skarmory corkscrews, avoiding Umbreon's strikes, and turns to him with a critical Night Slash.

Umbreon gets knocked around in the air and begins careening to the ground. A sudden crash and Umbreon was done. Karen calls her first Pokémon back and nods approvingly. "Very good, now let's see how this turns out." She calls out a Vileplume of all things. "I know it seems unorthodox and maybe a bit foolish, but my team is strong. I'm not going to let the type disadvantage discourage me."

Tia agrees, "Good, as a member of the Elite Four, I figured you'd have that kind of confidence in your Pokémon. Air Slash!" Skarmory strikes with more blades of wind at Vileplume.

To their surprise Vileplume spins out of the way gracefully like a Bellossom. "Surprised? We frequently train against Flying Types. Your Strategy is nothing new. Stun Spore." Vileplume sprays spores through the air to Skarmory.

"Night Slash!" Skarmory dives down and manifests more dark energy around his wings as the spores approach. "Spiral!" Skarmory starts spinning like a drill as his increased speed aids in flying through the spores and barreling into Vileplume.

"Acid!" Vileplume quickly retaliates with a spray of Acid. The damage is minimal, but Vileplume did manage to lower Skarmory's Special Defense a bit. "Now Petal Dance." She figures with Skarmory in close she may as well seize the opportunity.

"Skarmory Air Slash and fly away from it." Skarmory's wings swat away some of the petals and takes to the skies with the attack still hot on Skarmory's tail. The constant onslaught of petals keeps Skarmory on the run as he ascends, descends, flips, and corkscrews through the air with perfect timing to avoid the attacks.

Karen approved, "Bravo, you and your Pokémon are quite like minded. Even without communicating you two were on the same wave length. I could tell Skarmory did everything you wanted him to do." Karen knew her best bet we to let Vileplume to take the hit. Vileplume knew it herself. So she leaves herself open to another Air Slash and calls back her Pokémon. "Now, we can truly begin. Go Murkrow!"

Tia's not too worried about her Murkrow, "Air Slash!"

Karen waves her finger, "So impatient. Sucker Punch." Murkrow speed towards Skarmory and hits him with his wing. Doing minimal damage, but Air Slash didn't prove to do much more. "Let's try our luck with someone else. Whirlwind." Murkrow flaps her wings and engulfs Skarmory in a cyclone returning him back to the Pokeball. Tia's next Pokeball flashes at random and calls out the spontaneous switch in. Ampharos gets dragged out looking confused. Karen face palms, "Really an Electric Type? Couldn't have been a Bug or Fighting Type."

"Well Ampharos, this is a little random, but use Power Gem." This switch was definitely a better deal for Tia than Karen, but she takes it in stride. "Sucker Punch!" Murkrow flies in quick and hits Ampharos before Power Gem goes off and avoids the attack.

Although, this would prove to be a bit of a fatal error in Karen's part. "Discharge!" Ampharos charges up and explodes a burst of electrically charged energy out at Murkrow, dealing hefty damage to the Flying Type. "Power Gem again!"

Karen knew better now, "Faint Attack and keep your distance." Murkrow ducks and weaves through the Power Gem with extreme precision. Murkrow was an excellent flier, just like Skarmory. She dives in quick and just as quickly bugs out before Ampharos can Discharge again. Karen didn't like playing the defenses, but she had little choice.

"More Power Gem!" Tia knew she had to keep up the offense and wait for the perfect opening. So keeping Murkrow on her feet would be the best option while Tia came up with a plan. Tia suddenly gets an idea. "Electro Ball!" Ampharos nods and turns to swing her tail and bats at ball of electricity towards Murkrow.

"Sucker Punch!" Murkrow dive bombs Ampharos with blinding speed. Though neither knew what Tia's real goal was. "Your back is exposed and you won't be able to Discharge fast enough."

Tia smirks, "You're right. Ampharos Backflip!" It was a tall order, but Ampharos leaps into the air and does a flip right over Murkrow. "Power Gem!" As Murkrow swoops under Ampharos. She lands behind Murkrow and readies a Power Gem. Murkrow can't quite stop or turn fast enough so Ampharos's Power Gem hit dead on. With that Karen now only has two Pokémon remaining.

She grits her teeth, "Well that was a clever play. We can do better than this. Go Gengar! Lick." Karen starts off getting up close and personal. He leaps through the air with a light hop as he lingers in the air. Gengar moved and bounced as if he were lighter than air. Leaping to Ampharos who tries to fight off, but Gengar jumps and hovers and eventually gives Ampharos a Lick with his cartoonishly large tongue. Not too surprisingly the damage was pretty minimal and left Gengar is left paralyzed.

Tia looks confused, "Why did you try that when Ampharos has Static for an ability? Plus, the odds of you paralyzing me over yourself were exactly the same? Seems like an unappealing gamble to me." Still Tia couldn't complain. "Electro Ball." She takes full advantage of the fact that Gengar was now slower thanks to the status aliment and uses Electro Ball.

"Sometimes you have to take risks to get results. Focus Blast!" Gengar leaps back and fires off a devastating blast of energy. Tia wasn't expecting the sudden Focus Blast., but Ampharos narrowly avoids it.

"Power Gem!" She doesn't want Gengar getting too close so she does her best to hit the stunned Pokémon from afar. Gengar bounces more erratically and avoids it with ease. He pounces with his tongue at the ready, but Tia and Ampharos weren't about to the let that Lick connect again and risk them getting paralyzed. "Discharge!" Ampharos's electric attack creates a field blasting Gengar back, but Still Gengar continues the attack. Trying once more to Lick despite sustaining massive amounts of damage. "Discharge again!"

Karen smiles, "Quickly Gengar, use Destiny Bond!"

Tia's heart sinks like a stone, "No, Ampharos stop!" It was too late. Ampharos unleashes a burst of electricity that instantly zaps Gengar. Gengar grins with an evil smile. Ready to faint and take Ampharos with it. Gengar's eyes glow. Time seemingly slows down as Tia watches Ampharos's fate seal. Gengar's eyes shimmer, all of a sudden Gengar gives off a twitch. His body spasms as his devilish smile turns to pure shock.

Gengar was paralyzed. Stunned and unable to finish Destiny Bond. Gengar falls prone and Karen cries out. "Dammit, that was so close!" She counted on her strategy working flawlessly, but unfortunately for her, paralyze kicked in at the worst possible moment for her.

"So that was your plan the whole time. Getting Gengar beaten down enough so he could pull off a Destiny Bond in the clutch and faint my Pokémon. Very clever. Still luck's on my side this battle." Tia smiles happily and waits for Karen's final Pokémon.

"We'll see about that. Go Houndoom!" Her fiery Pokemon roars as he comes out and breathes fire with a dark and piercing gaze.

Tia nods, "Alright, I know how I want to settle this. Thank you for all the hard work Ampharos." She calls back her Pokémon proudly and draws her next Pokeball. "Alright, let's settle this one. Go Typhlosion. We're fighting fire with fire!" Typhlosion comes out with an equally determined roar and spouts off fire from his maw. Both Pokémon stare each other down. Locked in intense combat before even making the first more.

Both Pokémon lunge out and run at each other. "Dark Pulse!"

"Lava Plume!" Houndoom roars and manifests a ring of dark energy while Typhlosion forms fiery plumes, dowsing the battlefield in lava. The two run at each unrelenting and refusing to back down. "Flame Charge!"

"Crunch!" Typhlosion ignites and speeds to Houndoom. Houndoom's maw opens revealing his razor sharp teeth which snap at Typhlosion. Grabbing hold of Typhlosion's arm and not letting go.

"Flamethrower!" Typhlosion breathes blazing flames in Houndoom's face until he finally yields and lets go of Typhlosion.

"Nasty Plot!" Houndoom builds up his strength for a more brutal attack.

"Inferno!" Typhlosion refuses to let up though, Tia and Typhlosion were in this to win it. Houndoom was too quick for that though. The whole room felt like a furnace all of a sudden. The two trainers sweating as their battle quite literally heated up.

"Flamethrower!" Both trainers shout in unison as both Pokémon attacked with a torrent of flames. The two Pokémon engulfed in the other's flames. Typhlosion shields himself using Flame Charge. His flames neutralizing Houndoom's. Still Houndoom snaps at Typhlosion again with his jaw wide open. Typhlosion doesn't give up though. He takes Houndoom by the jaws and holds him. Typhlosion Flamethrowers him again and tosses Houndoom to the ground. The battle has grown vicious as Houndoom bites at Typhlosion's leg. Typhlosion retaliates with an Inferno, but still Houndoom doesn't let up the Crunch. It's become a war of attrition and strength. Houndoom gets up and throws himself on Typhlosion. Typhlosion gets knocked off his feet and pinned to the ground. Still Another Flamethrower to the face weakens Houndoom's grip. Typhlosion wrestles loose ever so slightly and uses Lava Plume to rain hot lava down on them both. Houndoom reaches for Typhlosion's neck with another Crunch, but Typhlosion punches him in the snout and grabs Houndoom. Typhlosion struggles to his feet with Houndoom held above his head. Spitting fire in every which direction and trying to get free. Typhlosion roars, shaking the arena, and throws Houndoom at the nearest wall finally knocking him out. Typhlosion collapsing from exhaustion not long after.

Tia breathes heavy and finally calms down. She grins from ear to ear and jumps up. "We won!" In an unprecedented all out brawl, Tia and Typhlosion beat down Houndoom securing the win.

Karen looks amazed, "In all my years, I've never seen a battle like that. Typhlosion and Houndoom fighting with such wild vigor and unrelenting rage. It was like they'd transcended normal battling and achieved a level of strength I've never seen before." Karen shakes her head. It surprised her. Houndoom was a strong Pokémon, but she'd never taught him to fight like that. He was fighting with a level strength and determination she'd never seen before, as if goaded by Typhlosion's own strength. Feeding off his opponent's indomitable willpower. Desperate to prove something more. Karen snaps back to reality. "That was a truly remarkable match. You may proceed to the last of the Elite Four. Lance awaits eagerly, I know."

Tia nods, "Thank you for an excellent match Karen. I learned a lot from fighting all of you today." Tia meant this. Every battle was eye opening to her and she planned to use everything she's learned since that day she left Pallet Town to defeat Lance and battle Tom with all her might.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Luck certainly played a large factor in this battle I know. Again, this was a shorter chapter simply because there really wasn't much more to it that just the battle between Karen and Tia. Lance's will be a bit longer and have a bit more commentary from Tom and Red. Still, we're getting closer and closer to the end of Johto. Hoenn is just around the corner.<p> 


	74. Chapter 72: Dragon Lance

Chapter 72: Dragon Lance

The time has finally come. Tia's battle with Lance. The decisive battle that will finally settle it all. Everything she's work for up to this point has been for this. All her experiences against the sixteen gym leaders before this, the three elites, Team Rocket, and all the legendary Pokémon she's encountered along the way. All of this was setting the stage for these last two battles.

Tia can't stop grinning, "I'm so excited!" She's absolutely giddy and it certainly showed.

Red laughs, "Really? I couldn't tell." He looks around the long hallway, decorated with ornate Dragon Type statues. "I know Lance favors Dragonite, but why is like every other Dragon a Flygon?"

Tia notices this too. They were flanked by Dragon Type statues on both sides. One row of Dragonite followed by a row of Flygon, Salamance, and yet again Flygon. This pattern persists all the way down the hall. She just gives Tom a sideways glance. "I can only imagine why."

Tom shrugs, "Hey when you're the champion you can choose the décor. I figured Flygon should get the appreciation he deserves." His personal bias also notwithstanding. "At least you won't be fighting my Flygon."

Tia cringes, "Yeah, he'd annihilate my team before I could even get an attack off." Tia knows Tom's main team is nothing to mess with. She'll fully admit they are way too far out of her league.

This does pique Red's curiosity. "I've been meaning to ask. How good are you Tom? I mean world champ. Obviously you're one of the strongest, but we've never got a chance to battle yet." Red says the title so casually.

Tom frowns, "I'm the two time world champion, and I've beaten every gym leader, every Elite Four member, and every champion with an established league. I have one of the strongest legendary Pokémon around also."

Red shrugs, "I mean I could do that. Have you caught over one hundred and forty Pokémon like I have? Well, Blaine traded me Mewtwo briefly so I could finish the Pokedex. The birds have still alluded me though."

Tia nods, "Red's shown me his Pokedex; it's pretty impressive."

"I did this as a favor for Prof. Oak, that's why I never really left Kanto. Though, I may explore Johto soon or the Sevii Islands." Red acts pretty cool in the face of Tom's accolades, which frustrates him greatly.

"We'll have a battle one of these days, then we'll see who the best is." Tom glares which gives Tia an uneasy feeling.

Red smiles confidently. "Alright, maybe we'll battle at the next World Tournament."

Tom face palms. "You can't just walk up and enter the World Tournament."

"I know, I've got a standing invitation. I was just never interested in entering up until this point." Red laughs. For as mature as he was he still had his child like charm.

The two drop their discussion as they draw closer to the door. "Behave you two." Tia warns them as the door open.

"Just as bossy as ever. Older sisters. Am I right?" Red nudges Tom's shoulder who smirks and nods. He knows how Tia can get.

The three walks into the bright, golden room. The pathway leading to a high rise is carpeted with a deep red stretch of carpet. Dratini statues standing on either side of the trainers. The three step up the stairs where Lance stands patiently. "Hello again Tia, I've been expecting you."

Tia smiles and takes her place on the arena floor. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Trust me, you won't be disappointed."

Lance nods, "I believe that." He looks to Tom and Red. "Good to see you Tom. You as well Red. I was surprised to hear you were joining these two. Then I remembered you were from Pallet Town as well so I figured you and Tia knew one another."

Red nods, "Yeah, I couldn't pass up a chance to see my sis beating the Elite Four."

"So you're siblings? That goes a long way to explaining how Tia became so powerful in such a short amount of time. Training really is in your blood. Both of you." While having no personal connects, Lance was aware of Noland's accomplishments and strengths. Have the chance to battle with both of his children was an honor.

"I appreciate it, but I like to think it's my own merits that got me this far, not my bloodline. All I care about is my strength, willpower, and determination. That's the key to my success." Tia boldly declares.

Lance gives a deep nod, "I will not refute any of that. Your blood may dictate your path in life to an extent, but it's your actions and abilities that make you extraordinary. My sister, Clair, told me all about your battle with her. So I'll be excited to see how this battle of ours will turn out."

"Well I'm ready when you are." Tia smirks and holds out a Pokeball.

Lance nods, "Then let us begin. Gyarados!"

Tia tosses her Pokeball and cracks her knuckles. "Alright, let's get started Ampharos."

Red nods, "Not that it'll really be a determining factor, but the early type advantage could put T at an early lead."

Tom nods, "Knowing Lance he'll make it work, but I hear what you're saying. It's all about how Tia chooses to use Ampharos. If it's anything like she has been using her than this will be over quickly."

Tia carefully examines Gyarados and takes note of his Intimidation lowering Ampharos's attack. "Power Gem!" Ampharos conjures floating gems to hurl at Gyarados. "_Now will he play into our hands?_"

Lance extends out a hand. "Serpentine and use Ice Fang!" Gyarados flies and coils through the air evading the attack. Gyarados ducks and weaves, but makes sure to steady advance towards Ampharos. His fangs glow a blueish-white, filled with cold energy.

Tia responds quickly, "Perfect. Jump!" Ampharos leaps high on command as if she too was expecting this. The leap went right over Gyarados's head and results in Ampharos landing on Gyarados's back. "Signal Beam!" Ampharos points straight down and hits Gyarados point blank with a Signal Beam to the back of his head. Tia crosses her fingers. "Come on!"

Gyarados recovers nicely, but he seemed a bit more staggered than before. "Confusion," Lance sighs. "Dragon Pulse!" He was not happy with the confusion so he can only hope this works. Instead of trying to flail Ampharos off Gyarados goes for a Dragon Pulse. Energy forms around his whole body and explodes outward. Instantly knocking Ampharos off. "Waterfall!" Lance wasn't about to risk paralysis from Static on top of confusion.

Tia thankfully had a plan for this too. "Run and use Electro Ball." A waterfall comes crashing down on Ampharos who runs through it so Ampharos was on one side with Gyarados safely on the other. Once Ampharos was in position she hurls an Electro Ball at the waterfall. The attack couldn't effectively penetrate the water barrier, but it did prove to be very conducive. The waterfall becomes electrically charges and lights up like a star. Effectively blinding Gyarados. "Now Power Gem!" With Gyarados blinded Tia was free to have Ampharos strike.

"Serpentine!" Gyarados tries to evade the attack, but in turn flies right into the attack. Surprisingly though, he was still standing and the confusion wore off. "Dragon Pulse!" Another burst of energy is released around Gyarados, but Ampharos was too surprised to properly block. "Now Flail!" Gyarados goes in for one last ditch effort to hopefully take down Ampharos.

Tia knew this was Lance's Hail Mary so she had only one choice. Tia thought of every possibility in her head and realized the Power Gem and Signal Beam were clearly not as effective as she'd hoped. Signal Beam was unsurprisingly useless, but confusion was all she could hope from that. Ampharos is about to take Flail so Tia knew exactly what to do. She stands there and has Ampharos do nothing. Gyarados connects and knocks Ampharos back. The damage was weak, as she expected. Lance stands confused for a moment. "Well, I was not exacting expecting that."

Tia shakes her head, "You were expecting a Discharge, Gyarados surviving in the clutch, and hitting on Flail for max damage?" Ampharos runs up to Gyarados and Discharges all the same while Lance gracefully accepts the loss on that one.

Tom stands completely baffled. "Did she really calculate all that in real time? Seriously, if that was me I would played right into Lance's hand."

Red laughs and points to his head, "My sis has a brain and when she's focused she _really _knows how to use it. Honestly, I would have done what you said. The obvious play."

"Very impressive, now go Dragonite." Lance calls out one of his mighty Dragon types onto the field. Still being part Flying Type does still help give Tia a slight edge.

"Power Gem again Ampharos!" Tia is confident that she'll get a good hit in on Dragonite with this one since his only real choice is to go in swinging unless he has a Dragon Breath or another Dragon Pulse.

"Dragon Rush!" Dragonite soars into the oncoming attack and choose to take the hit, the way Tia figures she did about a third of Dragonite's health with that one hit, but Dragon Rush will most assuredly take out Ampharos. Which Dragon Rush does just that. Still, Ampharos did her job excellently.

Tia smiles and looks at her Pokeball. "You did great, now rest. Now, go Heracross!" The battle will now be taken to the air. "Heracross and I will beat this Dragonite the same way we beat your sister's."

Lance chuckles, "I can assure you, I'm not nearly as impulse as Clair. Thunderwave." Dragonite flies up to Heracross and discharge bolt of electricity.

"Drop Heracross." He quickly tucks in his wings and essentially let's himself fall prone to avoid the Thunderwave. "Swords Dance." Heracross unfolds his wings once more and surrounds himself in swords, boosting his attack. Still, Tia needed to be extremely careful.

"Thunder!" Dragonite is not about to let Heracross the anymore boosts. Thunder would be a guaranteed knock out for sure.

"Heracross fly under Dragonite!" Heracross bolts it across the arena and easily evades the slow, but devastating Thunder. "Swords Dance!" Heracross gets another boost, sharply raising his attack power more.

"Dragon Rush!" Dragonite is through playing this game of cat and mouse. He rushes Heracross and pummels him.

"Reversal!" Heracross hits even harder, Dragonite was barely hanging in now. The damage to Heracross was pretty noticeable too. Tia knows he couldn't take another one of those hits. "One last Swords Dance!" Tia was taking a huge risk here, but she knows if anyone could pull it off it'd be Heracross. Heracross gets a safe distance away to boost his attack one final time. The next hit will do it.

"Dragon Rush!"

"Megahorn!" The two charge in. Dragonite winds his fist while Heracross's horn glows with powerful energy channeled into it. Dragonite punches at bullet speed, it looked like it was all over for Heracross when suddenly he spots his opening. Heracross sinks down and just as quickly lunges up at Dragonite. Driving his horn into Dragonite's torso. Dragonite falls limp, motionlessly falling to the ground before Lance calls him back.

Tom notices something, "Your sister's gotten a lot more conservative. I mean she ditched the bad habit of run in blind to a battle long ago, but she's definitely more conscious about survivability. Did you teach her that?"

Red shakes his head, "No, she learned this all on her own. As far as I see it, Tia thinks on a much higher plane than your normal trainer. Only now, I think she's really starting to utilize it. She's a bona fide strategist."

"Go Aerodactyl." Lance surprises everyone with his next choice.

"Oh my god, Lance. That's a risky play." Red is the most outwardly floored.

Tom takes a second to analyze the strategy. "Well, if Aerodactyl gets the first attack off then a Rock Slide will definitely finish off Heracross."

Red shakes his head, "He's definitely faster, but if he misses and Tia connects with one of Heracross's supped up Close Combats, it will destroy it. This is all or nothing."

All or nothing indeed. Both Tia and Lance knew this was true. Still neither backed down, "Rock Slide!" Lance makes the first move, but as he calls out his attack Tia does as well.

"Close Combat!" Tia declares right as Lance does. Both Pokémon stare one another down. Heracross tears through the air while Aerodactyl throws tons of rocks at Heracross. Heracross's arms glow as he aims for Aerodactyl.

Amazingly enough Heracross plows through the Rock Slide, taking plenty of hits, but his attack persists. Powered by nothing more than willpower and determination. Close Combat draws ever closer as Aerodactyl desperately tries to flee, but is met with an unrelenting force that easily takes Aerodactyl down with him.

Both Pokémon fall out of the sky. Lance may have wasted a Pokémon, but he got Heracross out of commission. So he quickly calls out a star player of his. "Go Charizard."

Tia thinks of who her next, best choice will be. Her choice was clear. "Go Tyranitar!" Her pseudo-legendary Pokémon and one of her strongest Pokémon by far. Still She's not about to underestimate the power of a Charizard, especially not Lance's. This is a battle Tia has to win, so she can't hold back.

The Sandstorm kicks up as the two Pokémon stare each other down. "Dragon Claw!" Charizard's hands glow as he takes flight towards Tyranitar. His sharp claw glowing with fierce energy. With a mighty swing he slashes at Tyranitar. Though Tia and Tyranitar were prepared for this. Tyranitar grabs Charizard by the arms and intercepts the hit.

"Dark Pulse!" Tyranitar roars and releases a wave of dark energy at Charizard.

"Fire Fang!" Charizard takes advantage of the close range combat and bites down into Tyranitar's neck with his fiery maw.

"Get him off you Tyranitar!" Tyranitar takes Charizard by the neck and pulls his teeth way. Next Tyranitar grabs Charizard by the torso and lifts him. With a mighty whirl Tyranitar spins and throws Charizard.

"Air Slash!" Lance is quickly realizing this is a very unfavorable match up he's found himself in, but he's locked in now, so he might as well make the best of it. The Dark Pulse and Sandstorm certainly didn't do Charizard any favors, but his Pokémon was still standing strong regardless.

Tia grins almost wickedly, "We can take that. Tyranitar stand your ground and use Hyper Beam!" Tyranitar stomps his feet and stands firmly. With a roar energy builds up within Tyranitar as he trains his sights on Charizard. Charizard attempts to flee, but Tia kept a close eye on him and his speed. Tyranitar aims carefully, moving his head with Charizard. This was the best chance to strike. "Now!" A huge beam of intense energy fires from Tyranitar's mouth and hits Charizard dead on.

There is little Lance can do about this so he goes in for another close hit while Tyranitar is recharging. "Shadow Claw!" Charizard's claws once more glow, but this time with an eerie incandescent, black glow. The sudden impact sends Tyranitar sliding back, but he stays strong and stands his ground.

Tyranitar latches onto Charizard. His grip like a vice and refusing to let go. Tia stares down Lance. "You shouldn't have done that." She slowly raises her left arm and points to Charizard. "End this." She curls up her fingers and gives a thumbs down. Tyranitar gets a wicked gleam in his eye. This stares assure there is nothing by pain for Charizard. Tyranitar's mouth opens wide and charges up an attack. Charizard stares in shock.

"Return!" Lance calls back his Charizard right before the Hyper Beam fires off. "I must say that was a vicious strategy right there."

Tom looks on feeling a slight twinge. He couldn't explain it, but it unnerved him nonetheless.

"Well then I guess it's down to this. Go Dragonite!" He calls out his second Dragonite and his strongest Pokémon. "While Tyranitar is recharging hit it with an Outrage!" Dragonite roars and glares furiously at Tyranitar. An aura energy surrounds him. He flies swiftly through the air and plows into Tyranitar. The first hit nails Tyranitar right in the stomach, but he stands strong and bashes Dragonite away with his tail. Tyranitar readies for the next strike and prepares a Dark Pulse to knock him away.

The battle continues on as Outrage is still in effect. Dragonite was not able to get many more effective hits off on Tyranitar with this round of Outrage and left him fatigued and confused. Still Lance persisted. "Go use Hyper Beam!"

"Do the same Tyranitar!" Tyranitar and Dragonite both launch off two devastating attacks at one another. Still Tia knew she had the advantage. She could afford to take a Hyper Beam or two if she really needed to, but that didn't mean she wasn't fully intending on making sure that Tyranitar overpowered Dragonite. The beams fight back and forth, but Tia musters up her inner strength and shouts. "Tyranitar, you can do it!" Tyranitar feels refilled with a new vigor empowering him. The beam suddenly amplifies in strength and intensity. Ripping right through Dragonite's attack and consuming him the attack.

Both Pokémon stand sweating and breathing heavily as they recharge. Tia was ready to end this. She knew Lance's next play was going to be Outrage, as risky a play as it was under the effects of confusion. "Outrage!" Lance declares. She full anticipates this.

Now was the time. All there training leading to this final strike. The attack to secure her win against the Elite Four and the Johto League. Tia couldn't possibly lose now. She has Dragonite dead to rights. All she needed to do was find the perfect opportunity to have Tyranitar strike. "_Just a little closer._" She whispers. Dragonite was now half way down the battlefield to Tyranitar. Tia closes her eyes and breathes calmly. She slowly raises her head to the ceiling and smiles. "It's final over." She lowers her head and looks right at Lance. "Tyranitar, time we use out final attack. Our fourth move. Avalanche!" Tia shouts at the top of her lungs. Gigantic frozen rocks and chunks of ice manifest above Dragonite as Tyranitar is hit. The slower timing of the attack worked to Tia's advantage, effectively doubling the attack's power and burying Dragonite in the process.

The arena falls silent. Lance looks on hoping his Dragonite will emerge, but Tia, Tom, Red, and even Lance honestly knows that won't happen. He smiles and calls back his Dragonite. "Avalanche? I must say that's the rarest move I've seen on a Tyranitar. That was your winning strategy the whole time wasn't it? You could have used that out of the gate and beat me no doubt." Lance could tell Tia was holding back now. He appreciate that she wanted to win this with hard work and effort instead of crushing Dragonite out of the gate.

Tia nods, "I wanted a meaningful match. Something that would leave a lasting impression." Tia certainly had nothing to worry about in that regard.

Lance smiles, "You certainly did just that. I haven't had a battle like this is quite a while. On behalf of the Elite Four and the entirety of the Indigo League. Congratulations on the victory. You have successfully beaten the Johto League. You may go forth and record your data in the Hall of Fame or you may choose to challenge the Indigo League Champion." Lance looks past Tia and towards Tom. He shakes his head, "As if I need to ask. Tom, I leave this in your hands. You two may step into the champion's room." He bows and gestures to the opening doors.

Tia turns to Tom. "It's finally time. I will give it my all."

Tom nods, "So will I."

The three step into the hall and to Tia's final and most difficult battle yet. A battle against her best friend and strongest trainer in the world.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Things are coming ever closer to the end. Johto is almost over and I'm excited for Hoenn. Especially since it's easily been over a year since we started this arc. Tia and friends have come a long way in that time and I look forward to all the adventures to come. I hope you all do too. After this is one last battle.<p> 


	75. Chapter 73: A Journey's End

Chapter 73: A Journey's End

Tom and Tia step forward into the champion's room. Its walls are blue with a white, reflective floor. Towards the back is a station to place one's Pokeballs and a giant screen mounted into the wall. This is the Hall of Fame and where all trainers face off against the league champion in battle. The day Tia's waited so long for. She'll finally get her battle against Tom.

"Good thing I brought my team along. I'm ready whenever you are." He smiles and speaks softly. Feeling uneasy battling seriously for the first time in quite a while. The battle against Mewtwo was the last time he could recall battling seriously other than the World Tournaments. He wasn't sure how Tia was going to be able to handle it.

Tia nods, "I'm ready. I'll start with Togetic." She smiles confidently. Tom frowns and reaches for his X mask in his bag. Tia speaks up first however. "No, put that away." Tom looks up in confusion. "I'm fighting you, Tom. Not Mysterious Trainer X. I want to see _your_ face when you battle."

Tom smirks and nods, putting his mask back into his bag. "Alright, just don't forget I warned you. Go Arcanine."

Tia nods, "Alright let's start off with a Light Screen."

"Flamethrower." Tia feels her blood run cold when he orders Arcanine to attack. Arcanine, a Pokémon she's seen many times before is now against her in battle. The Light Screen does absolutely nothing in the wake of the tremendous strength of Arcanine's Flamethrower. With a single hit Togetic falls.

Tia looks on in disbelief. "Go Ampharos use Power Gem!"

"Extreme Speed." Tom doesn't even bat an eye at the command. Arcanine runs forward in a blur of motion, completely avoid the Power Gem. Ampharos doesn't even see the attack coming. Fainting before she, or Tia, realized it.

Tia trembles and shakes feeling the overwhelming emotions Tom was giving off. She tries her best to stay calm, but it's all she can do not to panic and collapse. "Go Typhlosion. Please, we at least hit him. Flame Charge!"

"Another," Tom knows this will do it, but he's curious to see how strong Typhlosion is by comparison. Typhlosion doesn't back down as he ignites and runs at Arcanine. Tia prays she can at the very least hit Arcanine, dealing damage at the very least. Arcanine runs faster than a bullet at Typhlosion. The two Pokémon meet head on in a clash of unprecedented strength. Arcanine's Extreme Speed instantly knocks out Typhlosion, but he winces ever so slightly in the process. "Well, you actually managed to do damage. You have come a long way." It was a minute victory, but an accomplishment none the less.

Tia grits her teeth, "Skarmory fly to the ceiling and use Air Slash!"

"Fire Blast." Skarmory flies to the top of the large room, a good fifty feet up and hopes it'll be out of range enough. Skarmory's razor sharp wings cut the air and send the attack down hoping to intercept the attack. No such luck. Fire Blast rips through the Air Slash and annihilates Skarmory, instantly beating him.

"Heracross!" Tia knows it's useless at this point, but she's going out swinging. "Close Combat!"

"Fire Blast." Tom did seem like he was trying, but he was not holding back for even a second. He was pouring every last ounce of his heart into this battle. Fight perfectly in tune with his Pokémon.

"Duck!" Tia quickly comes up with a strategy. Heracross swoops under the Fire Blast and punches Arcanine in the face.

Tom looks surprised, "He dodged it?" What's more Arcanine felt that hit. "Flamethrower." One charred Heracross later it was down to Tia's last Pokémon.

She felt so humiliated, so embarrassed she couldn't even hardly touch one of his Pokémon. She wanted to give up right now. She tires her best to fight back the tears. That is until Tom speaks up. "You've managed to hit Arcanine twice. You want to know the last time someone did that? Morty at the last Pokémon World Tournament. I know it seems hopeless, but let this be the gauge of your skill. I'm not sitting here battling you because I thought it'd be funny to watch you get knocked down a peg or two. This is my way of giving you a taste of what we'll experience in the future." He holds out his arms. "This is what a true Pokémon battle feels like to me. Insane strength and raw emotion battling."

Tia looks at Tom for a good, long while. "Then let me see your strongest Pokémon on this team." Her request is simple.

Tom smiles, "Alright." He calls back Arcanine. "Go Blastoise."

"Tyranitar! Survive this one hit and prove we will someday beat him." Tia cracks her knuckles.

"Hydro Cannon." Tyranitar stands his ground as an explosion of water erupts from Blastoise's cannons and completely envelopes Tyranitar. He gets pushed back at incredible speeds, but never once buckles. Even when thrown against the wall Tyranitar stands strong until the very end. The attack dies down. Tyranitar stands fainted, but he never caved.

"The last Pokémon that took a Hydro Cannon was swept off his feet and embedded in the wall." Tom calls back Blastoise and walks up to Tia.

"We lost." Tia hangs her head in the face of her crushing defeat.

Tom puts his left hand on Tia's shoulder. "For now. The next time we battle it'll be as equals."

Tia looks up, "When will that ever be?"

Tom gives his signature toothy grin. "Sooner than you think. You're growing at an astounding rate. Trust me."

She nods, "Thank you, Tom."

"Well time to register you in the Hall of Fame. You did beat the Elite Four after all. That's already a pretty big accomplishment." Tom walks her over to the machine.

Red walks over as well. "Way to go sis." He pats her on the shoulder. "Tom… that was okay. I guess." He jokes and gives him a thumbs up.

"Thank Red," he smirks and rolls his eyes. The machine heals and registers Tia's team. "Congratulations. Now it's time to celebrate." Tom smiles from ear to ear.

"Celebrate? I'm ready for bed." She laughs as they exit the room. There was special back exit that led back to the Pokémon center and the front doors. There Will, Bruno, Karen, and Lance all stand.

"Congratulations." They say in unison.

"You're something else for sure." Will compliments.

"Chuck taught you well. You are an exceptional Adept." Bruno puts in his own two cents.

"I look forward to hearing how you grow from here." Karen smiles.

"We know you won't let us down Tia." Lance speaks last as they all give a light bow in respect. "We expect you to give the Hoenn League's Elite Four an even harder run for their money."

Tia gets misty eyed. "Thank you all. I've learned so much travelling this past year and I can't wait to learn so much more. I swear I will do everyone proud." Her resolve rings through to everyone. They know she will, because they truly believe she's destined to be one of the best without a doubt.

"Come on sis, let's go home." Red calls out his Pidgeot while Tom had quickly grabbed his Flygon.

The three walk out and look to the twilight sky. They get on their Pokémon and fly off to Pallet Town. Tom flies close to Tia. "How are ya feeling?"

Tia smiles and looks to the horizon. "Fine, this just feels so surreal you know?" It was a long journey and now this one has come to an end. With another just beyond the horizon. They close in on Pallet Town when Tia notices a large gathering below. "What's going on down there?" Tia asks as she tries to get a better look before they descend.

"Surprise," Tom chuckles. The three land and Tia immediately recognizes all the gym leaders she'd made friends with over the course of her journey along with Gary, Prof. Oak, and her mom.

"Congratulations!" Everyone shouts happily.

"Oh my god guys, thank you all so much!" Tia's eyes light up as she runs to the crowd.

Tia first runs to her mother and gives her a hug. "Your friend Tom set this all up. He told me you were about to take on the Elite Four. So we planned this party and he invited all the guests."

Tia looks back at Tom, "All this for me?"

He nods, "Well, I can't take all the credit." Sabrina walks up beside him and puts her arm around Tom. "I had a bit of help."

Tia's mom nods, "Yes, Sabrina was a big help in setting up. I would never had known she was the daughter of Gerald and Amelia."

"So that's your dad's name." Tia chuckles. "Thanks Sabrina, this all means so much to me." She gives her a friendly hug as well.

"It's no problem. You've done a lot for Tom and me already, this is the least we could do." Sabrina saw this as a perfect chance to repay Tia for all the helps she's been to them. In a way Tia was the reason Tom and Sabrina were able to resolve their problem in the first place.

Red steps up shyly behind Tia, "Hey mom, it's been a while."

Their mom takes a second to take in what she was seeing. "Red!" She runs over to him and throws her arms around him. "Oh my boy, it's been ages. I'm so happy to see you again."

Sabrina chuckles, "So Red's your brother? I didn't know that." Sabrina remembers him coming to challenge her dad for the gym badge and his obvious reputation.

"Yeah, I feel bad I never brought this up before." Tia and Sabrina walk over to get food and drinks while the crowds gathered around talking to one another. "Well, I let you get food and mingle." She walks off and joins Tom.

"Well, I can't say I ever thought I'd be celebrating _you _beating the Elite Four." Tia hears an all too familiar voice.

"Yeah and I'm gunning for you next Gary." She giggles and looks up at him.

"Seriously though, good job. You're a way better trainer than I ever thought you'd be." Gary is very impressed with Tia.

"Thanks, you know what this means though, right?" Tia gets a cocky gleam in her eye.

"My gym's always open. Just don't cry too much when you lose." He teases and offers her a hand shake.

Tia shakes his hand with a strong grip. "Funny, I was about to say the same thing."

Gary nurses his hand. "Your grip is like a vice. Good thing it's a Pokémon battle and not an arm wrestling contest."

"You know me, gotta stay strong. Did you see Red's back in town?" She points to her brother that her mother won't stop fawning over.

"No way!" Gary runs over to catch up with Red.

Professor Oak walks up to her next as she talks a few bites. "You've done very well for yourself, Tia. I'm impressed. So are planning on going to Hoenn?"

Tia nods and swallows, "Yeah, but I'll be in town for probably a month or so."

"Wonderful, when you get there be sure to tell my old colleague, Prof. Birch, I said hello." He smiles warmly as he overlooks the crowd.

"I will." Oak walks off giving Tia a bit of time to herself. She's glad everyone's not just swarming her all at once. Red comes running back over next.

"Sis, who's that good looking blond over there?" Red points to a group in the crowd. Specifically, the group of Tom, Morty, Sabrina, and Anna.

Tia looks and gives a sneaky grin, "Why that's Morty. Sabrina's brother." She snickers.

Red face palms, "Not the guy, genius. The girl!"

"Sorry couldn't tell." Tia jokes further.

"_Couldn't tell my- _who is she?" He asks with a deal of urgency.

"That's Anna, Goldenrod's new gym leader. She and I travelled together for a little while in Johto. Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Is she single?" He asks quietly.

Tia, knowing Anna's track record, is inclined to say yes, but the whole Morty thing made her think otherwise. "I don't know? I can introduce you two." Tia walks over to the crowd and waves at Morty and Anna. "Hey you two. Great to see you here."

Anna walks over and gives Tia a friendly hug as well. "I wouldn't miss it. I was so excited to hear you were taking on the Elite Four. I was rooting for you the whole time."

"Same, no one who almost beat my Darkrai is allowed to lose to them." Morty shakes her hand. "I heard you beat old man Pryce's Regice."

"Old man?" Morty hears a voice from behind him. Pryce stands looking up at Morty.

"I mean the older gentleman, who is still pretty young looking for his age." He clumsily recovers.

"I'm pulling your leg son." He laughs and turns back to Tia. "You did very well young miss. I look forward to seeing you get even stronger. You and my granddaughter are both prime examples of excellent trainers."

Anna blushes, "Aw, thank you, grandpa."

Red finally makes his move. He clumsily walks up to her. "Hi, I'm Red. Tia's brother."

Anna is a little surprised, but she smiles. "Nice to meet you, Red. You a trainer too?"

He blushes, "Yeah, I love Pokémon and training."

Tia kindly steps in, "You may also know him as the Indigo League's youngest champion."

Anna's eyes light up, "No way, that's you? I remember reading about you. That's so cool."

"Yeah, I remember see that too." Morty starts chatting him up too. "I'd like a battle sometime."

"Thanks, I heard you mention you had Darkrai?" Red is surprised Tia fought a couple legendary Pokémon in her time and was such good friends with their trainers.

Morty nods, "Yeah and Anna's got Regigigas."

She nods humbly, "No way! That's awesome. Mew and I will have to battle you two sometime." Red's even more fired up now.

Anna perks up at that. "Mew? You have Mew?" Tia ducks out of the conversation and finds more people to converse with.

Tia was eager to see Chuck, who she quickly spots in the crowd. "Master!" She runs over to him and bows.

"Well if it isn't my number one student." He laughs and pats Tia on the shoulder with a proud smile. "I expected nothing else from you, Tia. Still mediating regularly?"

Tia nods, "Yes, every morning. I never forget. I've also learned to control my Ki output better. Also, Bruno says hello."

Chuck laughs, "Very good! Bruno is another great Adept as I'm sure you know. I'm sure he agrees that the Adept legacy is in good hands."

Tia's eyes light up, "Thank you. It's an honor master."

Another hour passes as Tia and her friends gather around talking and reminiscing. "So then Tia rescued me and fought off all these Rocket grunts until Mysterious Trainer X showed up." Misty regales everyone with the tale of how Tia saved her in Cerulean.

"Hey Misty, you do know that was Tom right?" Tia points out with a chuckle.

Misty nods, "I figured, that Arcanine was a force to be reckoned with. Plus, it was super obvious." She nudges Tom's arm.

"Mist, the point was I didn't want to draw attention to myself. You know, the media and stuff. I couldn't care less if you all knew." Tom explains his keeping his identity secret. "Besides, some people were fooled." He looks right to Tia.

"In all fairness, I didn't even know you were a trainer. Even Anna didn't know that when she kisses him." Tia quickly covers her mouth.

Suddenly, Sabrina's glass explodes into tiny shards. "Excuse me?" She turns to Tom with a look of death and fury.

"Oh crap. Sabrina it happened when we still broken up. I only did it to make her feel better! It meant nothing!" Tom panics as he tries to tempter her emotions.

Anna jumps in, "Yeah, he even said there was someone else. I was just in a bad place at the time!"

"And this is why we don't piss off the psychic." Morty laughs and pours Sabrina another drink. "Come on sis, he's nothing but faithful to you. Even when he had two good looking chicks around him." Morty may enjoy seeing Tom in the dog house, but he will at least defend his character in that regard.

Sabrina seethes and takes a drink, "Fine, but you're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"I have my own apartment?" Tom rebukes. Sabrina glances. "With a perfectly nice couch to sleep on."

Her mood instantly rises, "Good boy."

Red snickers and makes a whipping sound. Morty speaks up, "Dude, you saw what she can do to glass. Do ya really want to poke the Ursaring more?" Red shakes his head and stays quiet.

Tia's mother looks on happily as she watches Tia spending time with all the new friends she's made. It made her happy to see Tia's grown into such a social Butterfree. She feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns around and smiles. "I'm glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." A man's voice says quietly.

"Tia we have someone else here to see you." Her mother calls for her excitedly.

Tia looks over and spots a muscular man in a white, lab coat and red beret. "Daddy!" She jumps out of her seat and runs to him.

"Dad!" Red does the same.

Both Tia and Red leap into their dad's arms. "Whoa settle down, you two have gotten a lot stronger." He takes Tia's arm. "Especially you, Tia. My little girl's grown up so much." He looks to Red and messes up his hair. "My little man too. You two are quite the trainers. I'm glad you finally decided to follow in your old man's footsteps Tia." He looks at the crowd around them as well. "Made quite a lot of friends along the way." He waves. "Hey Tom, nice seeing you again."

Tom waves awkwardly, "Nice to see you too Noland."

Tia and Red let go of their father and walk him over to the crowd. "I have to introduce you to everyone." She first walks up to Sabrina.

"Hello sir, I'm Sabrina and this my brother Morty." Sabrina introduces herself politely.

Noland laughs, "Please, no need to be so formal. I know you two are. You old man and I talk all the time. You two are practically the spitting image of our parents."

Pryce walks up next. "Good to see you again Noland."

"Old, Icy Pryce. It's been ages." He laughs and shakes his hand.

"Yes, and it seems not a lot has changed." Pryce chuckles. He motions to Anna. "This is one of my granddaughters, Anna. She's Goldenrod's current gym leader."

Noland gives her a firm hand shake. "Good on ya, taking after your family legacy."

"Speaking of," he turns back to Tom, "Tom, I talked to your sister the other day. She's bummed you don't ever call."

"What!" Half the crowd exclaims. Tia being the loudest.

Tom puts his face in his hands and groans loudly. "Tom, what is this about a sister?" Tia cracks her knuckles.

"Anabel," he says defeated.

"Wait so Anabel, your supposed rival, this whole time was your sister?" Tia wants hit him so hard right now.

Tom nods silently, "We haven't talked in almost ten years."

Sabrina talks over, "Anabel's a very sensitive topic. I only know, because… well you know." She felt bad keeping it a secret, but Tom was very particular about this "I actually thought you knew. You said he told you about her."

"Well apparently not the _whole _story." Tia sneers.

"Didn't mean to open Pandora's Box like that." Noland felt bad now. "Well let's not dwell on that. This is a party after all. Three cheers for my rising Pokemon star." He laughs and gives her a hug. "You've got a strong grip. You really have been working out."

"Right, there is someone you have to meet." She takes her dad over to Chuck to introduce him.

Anna giggles and stands near Red, "Your dad's sweet, if not a bit loud." She chuckles. "We know who took after him."

Red and Anna both chuckle, "Yeah the resemblance is pretty noticeable with the way they act." Red walks over to the edge of the lake away from the rest of the crowds. "I've really missed Pallet Town. I love travelling, but I do like being in one place too. You know?" He sits at the edge and looks at the moon reflecting on the water.

Anna sits beside him. "Yeah, I travelled pretty much the whole world before settling down in Goldenrod. Though, I was still trying to find myself back then."

"So what made you finally realize you wanted to be a gym leader?" Red was interested in Anna's past.

"The position was pretty much tossed into my lap. Team Rocket had kidnapped Whitney, unknown to all of us, so her sudden disappearance created a problem. Then I remembered Tom telling me, he'd personally recommend me to be a gym leader if the position opened. So I acted as an emergency fill in. Then once I rescued Whitney, she fully relinquish the position onto me." She sums up the events rather nicely.

"Well if you can control Regigigas then I am inclined to agree with him. You must be an awesome trainer." Red gives her a thumbs up.

Anna blushes, "Thank you, Red. Originally I wanted to be a breeder and I still do. So I try my best to balance both when I can. Tom's grandparents help out a lot with that."

Red nods as he listens with full attention. "Cool, I'm no good at breeding Pokémon." He laughs, fully admitting his short coming.

"It's not too difficult. I'm sure a guy like you is very good about taking care of his Pokémon and nurturing them." Anna at least gives him the benefit of the doubt.

"Thanks, my Pokémon and I get along pretty well. I have a ton of Pokémon, but they're all special in their own ways." Red briefly thinks too all his past adventures and all the Pokémon he's caught over the years. "Still, I'm no good with kids. I mean I can usually make them laugh, but that's about it." The two chuckle.

Anna shrugs, "Well, I can see why. If you're even in Goldenrod City, stop by the gym and I could give you some pointers."

Red smiles, "Thanks, I'd like that. Though I really want a battle with you, and your Regigigas. With a Pokémon like him, you must be an incredibly strong trainer."

Anna blushes again, "I mean, I don't like to brag. I think I'm pretty good, but not as good as Tom or Morty." She says oh so modestly despite having beat Rayquaza. Even if Heatran helped. "I'm busy most days maintaining the gym and taking challenges, but give me a call and I'm sure we can find a time to have a battle. I'm sure your sister and I are going be hanging out a lot until she leaves for Hoenn." She giggles and looks up at the starry sky. "Wow, you don't see the stars too much over Goldenrod."

Red smiles and looks up with her. "Yeah, Pallet's always been a great place to see the stars. I have really missed my home."

"Well that makes one of us. Snowpoint's always been too cold for me." The two share another laugh. "I'm think I should get going, it's getting late."

Red hops up and offers Anna a hand. "Well, it was nice meeting you." He says meekly as he tries not to blush when she takes his hand.

Anna nods and walks over to the rest of crowd, which has also slowly died down. She quickly grabs a small scrap of paper and pen and writes something down. "Here," she places the small note in Red's hand, "it's my number. Call me sometime." She gives him a meek smile and runs over to Tia.

"Did I just get a girl's number?" Red stares in awe.

Tom walks up behind him and speaks up, "You know that _girl's _eighteen right?"

Red practically jumps out of his skin. "You heard all that?" He asks nervously.

Tom nods, "Yeah, no big deal. Turns out her and Morty are just friends. So you're fine. Just don't break her heart or Tia and I will take turns kicking your teeth in."

Red starts to sweat. "Duly noted." Though Red doesn't see that as much of a problem. At least not anytime in the foreseeable future. "Hey Mr. Mood-Ring does she, you know, like me?"

Tom smirks, "Come on dude, I've got to respect a woman's privacy. Plus, wouldn't that be cheating?" Tom did bring up a good point. Which makes Red wonder how he deals with it in his own life? Constantly knowing how others feel must take a real toll on his mental state.

"The key's not to think too hard about it I've learned." Tom walks past Red. "No, I didn't read your mind, but you instantly got concerned and nervous when brought it up." Then Tom shrugs, "Or I could be completely misinterpreting your emotions and now I'm just spouting off a bunch of crap."

Red laughs, "Sure, let's go with that."

The two both walk over to Tia as she's saying her final goodbyes to Anna, "So you thinking you'll be free next week some time?"

Anna nods excitedly, "Yeah definitely. I can't wait."

"What's going on here?" Tom asks.

"We're just playing a girl's day out." Tia giggles. Despite all her intense Adept training and meditation, Tia is still a girl on the inside. A girl who does still love vanity and shopping even when other things take priority.

"Wow Tia, I haven't seen you act this girly in a long time." Tom teases. "Going to get your hair done, maybe your nails, and talk about boys"

"Tom, I will kill you." She's unamusingly.

He laughs, "You know, I'm gonna miss your death threats."

Red sidles over to Sabrina, not wanting to be in the radius of the potential blood splatter. "Hey Sabrina is your boyfriend revealing a secret masochistic side?"

Sabrina shakes her head, "Apparently this is how they show affection for one another."

"I don't get it, but okay. At least she isn't really going to kill him." Red sighs.

Tia chuckles, "It's kind of crazy this is all coming to an end. I know you have other responsibilities, but going to Hoenn won't be the same without you."

Tom shakes his head, "I know, I wish I could but," he steps back and puts an arm around Sabrina, "this is something I can't give up ether." This was a mature decision on Tom's part which Tia completely agrees with.

Tia's parents watch from afar, "Our little girl's grown up so much hasn't see?" Noland smiles full of pride for his daughter.

Her mother nods, "She sure has. It's wonder that Red will be around more often too."

Noland laughs, "Has he finally decided to stick around? I swear they both have my insatiable urge to venture around the world."

She nods, "Yes they do, but Red was talking to Samuel Oak earlier and said he'd be happy to help him as a field research assistance."

"Well there you go." Noland regrets not being around as much as he'd wanted when they grew up, but he's elated to see that his kids have grown into wonderful trainers. "Scott runs a pretty tight ship, but I think I'm wearing him down so I can come and visit more."

"Dear, I've accepted your work has to come first and I'm fine with this." She knows her husband well enough to know that he makes promises like these all the time.

Noland implores though, "No, I mean it this time. I've learned today how much I've missed. Not only our kids' lives, but yours as well. I know you don't want to move to the Battle Frontier, I don't blame you. So I'm going to press Scott to give me some more time to with you and our kids."

She didn't want to admit it, but having Tia around helped keep her grounded. With Tia leaving for Kanto and Johto the loneliness really started to set in. She wasn't comfortable being an empty nester, but she couldn't very well ask her children to stay if they didn't want to. "Thank you dear, this means a lot to me."

"I love you, honey." The two share a warm kiss and embrace as they walk Tia and Red say their goodbyes.

The end of another adventure, the end of another chapter in Tia's life. The beginning of another grand adventure awaits just around the corner. All her wonderful experiences throughout Johto. All the new friends she met. All of these are experiences she'll never forget.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well, it's finally over, Johto is now over and done with. There will be three intermediate chapters before the start of Hoenn so I hope you all look forward to those. I once again, just want to thank every reader. This came at a perfect time as of the time of this chapter's release, Pokemon Sagas: Tia's Tales has hit over 10,000 views. I hope you all continue to read and enjoy. It's been a big undertaking these past couple years and I'm very happy with how things have turned out.<p> 


	76. Chapter 74: A Change

Chapter 74: A Change

The day has finally come. Tia wakes up early to meditate as usual. The past week as been so surreal being back home. With her mom and Red both around. She almost felt like a kid again. Except Red spend a lot of his days with Prof. Oak doing research and studying the Pokémon he's caught over the years. What's more even her dad was visiting more often.

Today was going to be a special day though. As she'd promised, today was going to be a girl's day with Anna. The two already had their day planned. They were going to do some shopping, get their hair done, grab lunch together, and probably more shopping after that. It was a good thing Tia saved up her money so much from all her battles.

Her biggest goals were to get her hair done, she can finally do something about it, because it's gotten way too long for her taste. As well as shopping for some new clothes to wear through Hoenn. Tropical climates meant dressing lightly and making sure to buy a new swimsuit. She couldn't possibly hide her excitement if she wanted to.

As she leaves she passes Red bathing his Tauros. "Hey sis, where are you off to?"

"I'm heading to Goldenrod City to spend the day with Anna." She says excitedly.

Red stammers a bit, "That's nice. Umm… got room for one more?" He was quite nervous asking.

Tia shakes her head, "Sorry bro, this is a girl's day. You probably wouldn't want to tag along anyway. We're just going to be shopping and getting our hair done."

Red sighs, "Yeah. Well, have fun."

Tia nods and calls out an old friend of hers. "Go Aerodactyl!" She figured he'd probably want to stretch his wings after so long. She hops on his back and flies off to Goldenrod City with great speed.

Tia touches down in front of the gym and shows herself inside. Inside Anna looks to be finishing up a gym battle. Her opponent was a young boy who was already on the ropes it looked like. The match itself is over rather quickly. The boy sinks his head in defeat. "That was a good match." Anna tells him sweetly. "You just need a bit more practice and I'm sure you'll win."

The boy's eye light up. "You mean it?"

Anna nods, "Of course, just remember, a great trainer isn't born over night?" She looks past the boy. "Isn't that right Tia?"

Tia chuckles, catching the boy's attention. "She's right, you've already got a head start on me. I didn't start training until I was sixteen."

The boy grins, "Are you strong trainer like Ms. Anna?"

Tia giggles a little at the Ms. Anna remark. "Well, I did just beat the Elite Four. So don't be discouraged over a few losses. Remember, win or lose, every battle makes you a better trainer."

He nods happily, "I'll remember that. Thank you Ms. Anna, Ms. Tia." He runs out of gym with a renewed vigor.

"Sweet kid," Tia comments.

Anna nods, "His name's Cody. He's been in here the past couple days trying to get his first gym badge. He's getting better, so I'm sure with little more practice he'll win."

Tia agrees, "Well are you ready, _Ms. Anna_?" She snickers.

Anna giggles back, "Let me just get a different pair of shoes real quick." She runs to the back. While she's away Tia looks at the new renovations to the gym. Seeing it complete Tia had to admit the gym was pretty plain looking, but in a way that looked chic in a minimalistic way. Plain, pastel cream walls with a green pastel trim. As well as a light lavender floor with a dark brown accent to form the shape of the arena outline.

Anna returns a couple moments later. "I love what you've done with the gym Anna."

Anna smiles, "Thanks, I got a lot feedback on how to design it and everyone agreed, simple and clean was perfect for a Normal Type gym. I know you're obviously still more interested in travelling, but Tom told me the Johto league's instating a new policy to hire gym trainers. So if you want the position's open."

"Thanks for the offer, but you already know my answer." Tia walks out with Anna beside her.

Anna nods, "I figured as much, I just wanted you to know the positions available if you ever wanted to take it. I've been told it's good training for anyone who wants to someday be a gym leader or other league official."

Tia thinks about it for a moment. Logically her next step after beating all the regions she could would be to take a position in some league. Though her goals are a bit loftier. Namely, a champion's title. "I'll keep it in mind, thanks."

"So where to first?" Anna begs the question of where their little shopping excursion will begin.

Tia shrugs, "I don't know? You know the city better than I do. I want to save the department store for last though."

Anna nods, "Alright, there is one boutique I wanted to check out first."

The two run off to the first store in sight. A small little clothes store with some jewelry. Tia notices a pair of small Pokeball themed stud earrings. "These are kind of cute." She puts one to her ear.

Anna nods and agrees, "I didn't think you pierced your ears though?" Tia parts back her hair off her ears and reveals faint piercing holes.

"I don't wear earring too often anymore because of all the travelling, but I do have ears pierced. What about you?" She looks closely at Anna's ears.

"I'm like you, I don't wear them when I'm travelling. Same thing with make-up." Though Anna's always been rather plain in nature to begin with.

"But you're a gym leader now, you should get all dressed up and flaunt what you've got." Tia puts a pair of small diamond studded earrings to Anna's ear. "Don't you agree?"

"I'm a gym leader, not a run way model. I don't exactly dress to impress when people come for gym battles. I'm not Elesa." Elesa being a famous run way model and a Unova gym leader.

Tia shakes her head, "You could though. Come on, some jewelry, a little blush, and some lip stick and guys will be falling all over you."

Anna's surprised by how much Tia was pushing the matter. "Why do you care so much?" Not wanted to come off as rude, but concerned.

"You want to get a boyfriend don't you?" Tia knows she does.

Anna blushes, "I mean yeah, but not a guy only interested in my looks." Personality was still most important to Anna.

"Yeah, but at least this way you'd stand out more. Come on, these are really cute earrings anyway." Tia puts them into Anna's hand.

She looks at them and ponders for a second. "Well they are cute. Fine." She finally caves.

Tia cheers, "Alright, now we need to go find some make-up for you." Tia and Anna pay for their things. Tia picking up the Pokeball earrings and a silver bangle for herself.

Next on their grand tour of the shops in Goldenrod was another beauty boutique. The store featured a wide array of make-up. Tia immediately browses through the lip stick, blush, mascara, and eye shadow. Grabbing herself some bright red lip stick and match blush. "God, I haven't worn make-up in forever." She really had no need to when she was travelling or after she broke up with Gary.

Anna looks embarrassed, "I never really wear it either. Other than blush or cover up sometimes." She looks through the different shades and they all felt too exaggerated for her.

"How about this? It's Slowpoke pink." Tia waves the stick enticingly.

"Okay fine," she takes it and Tia quickly hands her a matching shade of blush as well as mascara that complemented it nicely. "Have you always been this girly?" Admittedly, Anna's only known Tia for a short time and most of that experience was her as a trainer and more of a battle girl.

Tia nods, "I like to be a bit of both. I don't want people thinking I'm a total Tomboy." This was fair. Tia offset her other, Pokémon trainer side this way.

"Fair enough, how about some clothes shopping next. Unless you want to dictate that too?" Anna smirks.

"Hey, your style is your style. Wear whatever you like." Tia didn't want to be too controlling or opinionated on this. She was just very heavy handedly trying to help Anna look nicer.

They find the first clothing store, one of a great many, and step inside. It had a bit of everything for both genders so the two went to town. Tia mostly looked out for things to wear in Hoenn. So dressing light was the key. Short sleeves, breathe well, and shorts. While Anna found some nice, dressy pants as well as some new blouses. As well as a cute, cream sundress. "Oh my god, Anna, that is so you!" Tia gushes when she tries it on.

Little did they know; Tia wasn't the only observer. "_Wow,_" hiding near men's appeal Red peeked through to the dressing room entry where he caught a glimpse of Anna in her sundress.

A man in a suit walks up. "Is there anything I can help you find sir?" He speaks in a very posh manner.

"Huh?" Red looks back at him before turning back to looking at Anna. "No, I'm fine."

"Sir, not to imply, but it seems to me that you've spent a lot time eying the young lady over there and less time shopping for clothes." He's getting rather suspicious of Red's, frankly, suspicious behavior.

"It's not like that. I mean look at her. She's pretty good looking don't you agree?" Red hopes to justify his questionable behavior.

"Sir, I am forty years old and happily married." Naturally he would not be interested in an eighteen year old girl.

"Come Jeeves, imagine you're twenty years younger and single." Red still hopes to sway him.

"My name is Johnson." He stops for a moment and pictures it. "While I do see where you are coming from this is rather questionable behavior and punishable by law."

This gets Red's attention. "No, no you don't understand. She's a friend of mine and the black haired girl is my sister."

Johnson raises a brow, "Then why are you leery at her over here?"

"Well what else am I supposed to do?" Red was at a loss surprisingly.

"Perhaps, I don't know? Talking to the young miss!" He grabs Red by the scruff.

"Ah, what are you doing Johnson?" Red panics and hopes he isn't spotted.

"Vacating you from the premise. It's either this or you talk to her. Either option is better than reporting you to Officer Jenny."

Red grits his teeth, "Fine, I'll go." He puts his hands in his pockets and walks off with his head hung in defeat.

"You have much to learn sir." Johnson shakes his head and walks back inside. Part of him wishes that he'd faced his fears and just talked to her.

Tia and Anna grab their things and head off, none the wiser. The two quickly grab a bite to eat and head for their next destination. Under the city, one of the best places for teens and young adults to hang out. Anna knew of two of the best stylists in the city who owned their own salon down there. The duo of the hair stylist brothers is well known throughout the whole Johto Region.

Naturally the salon is packed, but it gave Tia and Anna time to think of how they wanted their hair done. "So what do you have in mind Anna?" Tia asks as she pages through a fashion magazine. Several pages showed of gym leader Elesa with a few different hair styles. Though Tia wasn't about to hold herself to the standards of a supermodel like Elesa.

Anna shrugs, "Probably just get it a little shorter. Nothing too radical. What about you?"

Tia giggles and tugs at her hair. "Definitely a lot shorter."

The two brothers call up Tia and Anna next. The older brother takes Tia to her seat. "Alight girl, what can I do for you today?" He asks excitedly as he goes to work washing her hair.

"I was thinking it needs to be much short, but I wasn't sure if I should change it up." She mulls over some different ideas in her head, but nothing sat right with her.

"Well if you need some ideas, this should help." He finishes washing her hair and hands her a book full of different women and hair styles. She pages through quickly until one catches her eye. She smiles and points to it. The older brother nods and smiles, "That is so you. Alright, just sit back and I'll make the magic happen."

True to Anna's word she mostly got it cut a bit shorter. Nothing to drastic, but still a nice change. She sits back under the hair dryer and reads a magazine. "What's the deal with this Snorlax Diet?" She asks herself.

Hers took maybe twenty minutes while Tia's took almost a full hour. At this point her hair was completely dry and she was just waiting for Tia.

Tia quickly sits down and starts up the hair dryer while Anna read. "Done already?" Tia catches her attention.

Anna smiles, "Yeah, like I said. I just wanted it a bit shorter."

Tia nods, "Still looks good though. Sorry mine took so long."

Anna shakes her head, "You had a lot more hair to cut. How did it turn out by the way?" Anna didn't get a chance to see Tia's haircut before covering her head.

"Oh you'll see." She waits for the hair dryer to finish its job. When it beeps and shuts off Tia grins. "What do you think?"

Tia lifts off the hair dryer and shows off her new look to Anna. Anna stares in surprise. Tia didn't simply cut her hair, she revamp her whole style. Her long, flowing black hair was now significantly shorter. Off the ears and neck and gelled up similar in design to her brother's hair. Still the biggest change was her raven black hair was now a deep crimson. "Wow Tia, red hair suites you really well. Plus it's so short and spiked."

Tia chuckles and rubs the back of her neck, which was now completely bare. "Thanks, I saw it and thought this was perfect for me. I was hoping you'd like it."

"Like it? I love it! This is a huge change, but so much better." Anna couldn't say enough good things about Tia's new look.

"Thanks," she snaps her fingers, "oh I know." She reaches into her bag and puts in the Pokeball earrings to complete the attire. "Perfect." She winks and gives Anna a thumbs up.

"Cute," she gushes at Tia's new look. "You almost look like a totally different person."

Tia laughs, "Yeah, I can't wait to see how my parents react. Red and Tom too."

"You'll definitely turn heads now. Let's see if you actually get any guy's attention when we head to the next shop." Tia and Anna both giggle as they run off to their next destination: the department store. Anna was certainly correct, Tia was drawing a lot of attention with her new look and she didn't mind it. She never got too much attention before so this was an interesting change of pace.

Anna and she split up to check out different stores. Tia looking for Pokémon supplies first and foremost. There she spots someone familiar. She walks closer to confirm it. It was indeed her brother. Something was off though. He wasn't looking too closely at the merchandise, but oddly enough out the window. She walks by him and notices he was fixated on Anna. Tia finally speaks up, "Red, what the hell are you doing here?"

He nearly jumps out of his skin hearing his sister's voice. "Tia! I didn't recognize you with the new hair style. Looks good." He tries to nervously change the topic.

She glares and cracks her knuckles. "You have exactly three seconds to explain why you were leery at Anna or I'll have to explain to mom and dad why I'm now an only child."

"Tia, please, it's not what you think." Red raises his hands defensively.

"One," she cracks her knuckles again.

"Okay fine, I was just you know. Checking out Anna." He comes clean.

"Have you been following us around all day?" She shouts accusingly.

"Not so loud." He cups her mouth. She bends his hand backwards until he collapses to his knees. "Uncle! Uncle!" Red tends to forget Tia's much stronger than he is.

Tia releases. "You've been stalking us?" She now really wanted to beat the tar out of him.

"No, I was just… following you… without your knowledge or consent." His argument was growing frailer by the second. "You can go ahead and kill me now. Just snap my neck, make it quick and painless."

Tia sighs, "Why are you doing this Red?" Tia only wanted an explanation.

Red blushes, "Well, I mean she's kind of, you know, cute and all. I want to talk to her, but I'm too nervous."

"When did you become so meek? If you want to talk to her just _talk _to her!" Tia couldn't believe her brother was acting like this.

"Johnson told me the same thing." He stands up and slumps his head.

"Who?" Something got overlooked here.

"Johnson, he worked at that clothes store where Anna got the sundress." He explains.

"You've been stalking us that long?" She shouts angrily.

"Don't murder me!" Now he was begging for him life.

Tia groans, "I'm not going to kill you, Red. I don't need to go to prison for murdering your dumb ass." She rolls her eyes.

"Thanks," he says sarcastically. "I'll just go home."

Tia sighs as Red slumps off. "Wait," Red quickly turns his head, "if you really want to talk to her, she's probably waiting for me by the food court. I said we should get Slowpoke Tails and she should meet me there when she's done looking." Tia couldn't sound more annoyed.

He runs over and throws his arms around her. "Thank you, sis! I'll never forget this!"

Tia rolls her eyes and pats him on top of the head. "Yeah, yeah. You may be a clueless dork when it comes to women, but you're my brother and I love ya."

Red runs off to the food court. He notices Anna sitting around checking out a few knickknacks she'd purchased. So Red quickly runs to the Slowpoke Tail vendor and gets two. He then casually walks over to Anna's table. "Anna? What a surprise to see you here." He says trying to act surprised.

She looks up and notices Red, "Red? Well, I live here. So really shouldn't I be the one saying that?" She says with a giggle. "Two Slowpoke Tails?" She had a feeling she knew what was going on.

"Yeah, crazy thing. I have a bit of a dilemma. I got two Slowpoke Tails, but I only ordered one." He jokes and hands one to her.

"Well, seems to me like you should have returned one, but no sense it going to waste now." She happily accepts it. "So how did you know I was here?"

"Oh you know, I was just in the neighborhood." He says trying to be aloof.

"Really? How's Johnson doing then?" Anna had him pegged.

Red freezes as his heart sinks like a stone. "Oh god, you know I was following you? I'm so sorry!" He begs for forgiveness once more.

Anna shakes her head, "Red, it's fine. He told me that you seemed nervous. What's going on?" Anna wasn't mad, honestly she wasn't the type to get really mad at anyone.

He calms down and explains. "Again, I'm sorry I was just a little nervous about talking to you." He was like a scared Lillipup at this point. Tia watched from afar and groans.

"Why?" Anna was still none the wiser.

"Well, because it's you. I mean it's not you, it's me… because it's you." These were beginning to sound like the ramblings of a mad man.

"I'm confused." Is an understatement.

Red collects his thoughts, "Anna, I think you're… words, words. Cute!" He blurts out awkwardly which surprises Anna to hear him say. "Sorry, cute," he repeats meekly. "And well I was hoping maybe, possibly, you could humor me, by going on a… date… with… me? I mean, if you want to. You don't have to. I completely understand why you wouldn't. Well, I gave it the old college try. Have a nice day!" He quickly gets out of his seat.

"Red wait!" She stops him in his tracks which prompts him to sit back down. Anna blushes, "You really want to go out on a date with me?"

Red nods, "Yeah, you're a really strong trainer and I think you're really cute too. As you can tell, I'm not great at talking to women."

Anna confessing something of her own, "A guy's never asked me out before. I've never even been on a _real_ date before either."

Red takes a deep breath, "Then will you do this dork the honor of being the first?"

She smiles and nods, "Yes, I would like that a lot Red."

Tia sees this as her cue to leave. She got her shopping done, got her new haircut, and she spent the day with Anna. That was enough for her.

Tia instead of using Aerodactyl, she uses Alakazam to teleport back home. She steps inside with all her bags. Her mother instantly hears all the noise and bags crinkling. "Sounds like someone went on a shopping spree." She giggles and walks out of the kitchen to greet her daughter. She immediately does a double take when she sees Tia's new haircut. "Oh my, dear, you look so different."

Tia smiles, "You like it?" She poses showing off her hair and earrings.

Her mom nods and smiles, "Yes, you look very nice and so different. I'm sure even your father and brother will have trouble recognizing you at first glance."

Tia smirks, "I already got Red."

"Speaking of, where is that boy? He's been gone all day. Samuel said he wasn't doing any field research?" She couldn't help worry where he ran off too, but she should be more or less use to it by now.

Tia alleviates her concern. "Don't worry mom. He's out on a date with Anna in Goldenrod City."

"A date? My little boy is out on a date?" She almost couldn't believe it. "Well, I talked to Anna and she seems like a very sweet girl."

Tia completely agrees, "Yeah, she's one of my best friends now. So it's kind of cool Red likes her. Though he better not hurt her feelings or I'll have to kick his teeth in." Oddly enough Tia thinks of the same threat Tom did.

"Tia, that's your brother!" Their mom never did condone their usual level of horseplay. Especially not violence.

She rubs the back of her neck, "Sorry mommy." She apologizes, but that doesn't mean she's not going to keep her word.

"Well, you're just in time for dinner so wash up." She smiles as Tia heads for the kitchen sink.

"Dad joining us? He couldn't the past two nights." He was still busy with the Battle Frontier duties, but he has made a more conscious effort to be home more and more lately.

Her mother nods, "He will and he can see your new look." Tia's glad her mom likes it. She worried she'd lose her mind after Tia decided to lop of most her hair and dye it red. She never had short hair before, but she liked it, plus this will be a benefit in Hoenn where it's hot all the time pretty much. "Did you buy any new clothes for Hoenn as well?"

Tia nods excitedly. "Oh yeah, I stocked up on supplies, got a new bag, clothes, and even some accessories. Anna and I made a pretty big dent in our wallets." Tia laughs.

"Just make sure you're being responsible with your money." She of course has to chastise her on the importance saving money.

Tia chuckles, "Mom do you have any idea how much I made off of trainers and gym leaders? I still have plenty of money don't worry."

"Okay, I'm just making sure you aren't being too fast and loose with your cash." She gives Tia and hug as she sits at the dinner table.

"Yes mommy," Tia giggles. She does appreciate it though. Her mother has always been a big role model in her life. "While I'm home you know I'm willing to make dinner for us, right?"

Her mother smiles widely, "That is very sweet of you, dear, but I don't mind. I know you've still managed to stay pretty busy even in your down time." She is still glad to know Tia loves to cook as much as she does. Somethings will never change.

This is true though, Tia has stayed pretty busy between helping out Prof. Oak and whatever else she decided to do. She wanted a month off the rest and relax, but still she couldn't help stay active. Even going as far as training with her Pokémon just to make sure they stay sharp. Tia was happy to do all this and more as well. All of these things she'd never imagined she'd be doing just one year ago. She enjoys every minute of it and she knows even more exciting adventures await her in Hoenn.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well, Tia's growth arc is finally complete. Not to say this is the end or that she won't grow from here, but comparing chapter one to this chapter. The difference is almost night and day. Both attitude wise and cosmetically. This is one of my favorite chapters personally. It was nice taking a break from all the action and nonstop battles of the latter half of Johto. For those who want a better idea of what Tia's Hair looks like, imagine ZoeyNozomi from the Diamond and Pearl arc of the anime, but with a deep crimson hair color. Reason I chose to do this was simply that I wanted to show some very drastic change in Tia as well as give her a style that was very unique to her. So I hope everyone likes the new look and looks forward to Hoenn.


	77. Chapter 75: A Party to Remember

Chapter 75: Party to Remember

Another week has come and gone for Tia. Today was like any other day. She decided to do a bit of sparring with her Pokémon. Ever since leaving Johto, Tia has been deep in studies on how to become an even better trainer. She looked over previous battle on records and trained with Red a lot to perfect her current Pokémon's strategies. Prof. Oak had a lot of data gathered on Pokémon thanks to Tia, Red, and Gary's experiences.

"Alright Nidoking use Horn Drill." Red has his Nidoking run towards Typhlosion with his drill spinning full force. Tia wasn't worried though.

"Typhlosion watch out!" Typhlosion keeps his eyes fixated on Nidoking. Typhlosion stands still and leans forward, grabbing Nidoking's arms and stopping him just shy of making contact. "Risky play bro. Typhlosion let's try out our new move. Blast Burn!" Typhlosion's eyes light up and his entire body erupts in flames. His mouth opens as a powerful concentration of fire gathers. With a ground shaking roar Typhlosion fires a beam of blazing hot fire. Completely consuming Nidoking in an inextinguishable torrent of flames.

Red looks shocked before nodding. He calls back Nidoking and looks at his Pokeball. "You did good Nidoking." He next looks to Tia and gives her a thumbs up. "Well you beat us this time sis. Don't get too cocky though."

Tia smiles and wipes beats of sweat from her forehead, "I know, but man Blast Burn really heats up the battlefield." She calls back Typhlosion. "So what do you have going on today? More field research or you gonna visit your girlfriend today?" She asks with a coy grin.

Red blushes and turns his head, "Anna said she was going to be busy and that she'd call me later. So I figured this would be a good a time as any to check out some of these case reports Professor's been talking about. He said something about reports of a shiny Pokémon in the wild along Route 13 so I figured I could check that out."

Tia nods and thinks for a second. "That's near Silence Bridge isn't it? Maybe you'll get lucky and it'll be a shiny Horsea or Seadra."

Red laughs, "That's what I'm hoping for. Any shiny Pokémon is extremely rare, but man if it were a really rare one I'd catch it in a heartbeat." He scratches his chin and smiles, "Maybe it'll be a Normal Type I can give to Anna."

Tia smirk, "Oh Red, thank you so much." She mimic's Anna's voice and starts puckering her lips and making kissing sounds. Red rolls his eyes and bops Tia on the forehead. "Hey!" She pretends to be in pain. "Don't hit your older sister. When I was your age-"

Red suddenly cuts her off, "Two minutes ago."

"Was always more mature and responsible." She cracks her knuckles. "Especially when you know I can beat you up." She chuckles. Quickly, Tia puts an arm around Red's neck and puts him in a head lock.

"Hey, let go." He struggles to get free of Tia's vice-like grasp. "I'm sorry. I give!"

Tia lets go and laughs, "Good boy," Red just groans and rubs the back of his neck. This kind of horseplay was pretty normal for them. Even though Tia never really worked out like she does now, she's always been fairly stronger than both her brother and Gary.

Tia's X-Transceiver rings, she quickly checks and notices it's Sabrina. She answers happily, "Hey Sabrina!" She smiles from ear to ear.

Sabrina was already to reply when she notices Tia's hair. "Wow, hey Tia. I wasn't expecting that." She motions over her head for emphasis.

Tia chuckles, "You like it?"

Sabrina nods, "Yeah, looks good. I was actually calling about Tom's party. I never got your RSVP and I assumed you'd be making it."

Tia cocks her head, "RSVP? Party? What are you talking about?"

Sabrina looks saddened and starts panicking. "Oh no, don't tell me the invite got lost in the mail? Tia, today's Tom's birthday and I'm throwing him a surprise party."

Tia too is taken aback by this. "It is? Yeah, I'll be there. Definitely. What time is it?"

"It's around seven, Johto Time. I'm preparing for the party now while Tom's working." Sabrina points the camera on the X-Transceiver to Tom's apartment and shows how her setup was going.

"Cool, need any help?" It didn't come up much, but Tia loved throwing parties, going to parties, having parties, and just parties in general.

"Don't do it Sabrina, you'll regret it!" Red shouts from behind Tia.

Tia pushes him away, but Sabrina doesn't heed his warning. "That would be great. Thank you so much Tia. Meet me at the Pokémon Center in Goldenrod and I'll show you where Tom lives."

Tia nods, "Alright, I'll see you there." She hangs up and calls out her Alakazam. "Well, see you later Red." She waves him goodbye.

"Tia, I'm serious. I know you get when you help throw parties. You're like the bridezilla of every party ever."

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Tia defends herself, but Red knows all too well how his sister can be. Tia teleports off without a word. "Thank god, I won't be there." He heads for Oak's lab.

Tia teleports to the center and waits for Sabrina to come get her. The wait isn't too long. Sabrina runs in and waves Tia down. "Hey Sabrina. I was surprised when you said Tom was living in Goldenrod City now."

Sabrina checks out Tia as she walks up, "Yeah, but your hair. I just can't get over it."

Tia laughs and follows Sabrina down the road. "Yeah it still takes me by surprise too. It's so different, but I love it. Red also thinks red hair suits me. Though, he might just be saying that since I'm so aggressive."

Sabrina giggles, "Brothers do know these things. Anyway," she points to a large condo, "that's where Tom lives. The Golden Rise Apartments. The penthouse of course."

Tia glimpses at the building and whistles impressively. "One of the many perks of being champion. I wouldn't mind living in a place like this. Though, I'd want a place overlooking an ocean." She says this with the hopes of someday having a title like champion for herself.

They head for the Golden Rise Apartments which are located in a more stately looking part of town. Posh and a definitely more cultured with theaters, fine dining, and marble statue located in one of the squares. Goldenrod is quite abundant in size and really twice as large if people counted the tunnels. The Golden Rise itself is a sight to behold, a classic example of early gothic architecture withstanding the test of time. It's been refurbished may times over the years and despite its design it still finds a way to fit in naturally amongst all the modern art deco designs in the area.

"Wow, that's a fancy looking building." Tia's certainly impressed by Tom's new home. "You said the party's around seven so that gives us plenty of time to prepare." They step into the elegant lobby of the apartment complex and take the elevator to the roof. On top stood a separate building attach to the roof. As if a part of the apartments, but still a separate entity. "Wow, it's like some built a house on top of the apartment." Tia marvels at the penthouse in all it's almost regal glory.

Sabrina giggles, "Yes, though it feels a bit excessive for Tom in all reality." She opens the door and reveals the interior. Furniture is elegant and ornate in design, with adornments, and painting to give the interior extra flavor and class.

Though something stood out more than anything. A nagging feeling that Tia couldn't shake. "Wow this place is bare." Outside of the obvious set pieces there was not much to the penthouse.

Sabrina laughs, "Well what can you expect? Tom's never really owned a lot of things. Not a single piece of décor is his. Outside of that fern." She points to single potted plant in the corner. "His dressers are half full, his china cabinet is empty, and his pantry has enough food for about a week at a time. The only real thing he's bought is that T.V. over there." She points to a very nice and large, wall mounted television.

"Your boyfriend's in dire need of… stuff. Anything to actually make this feel like a home. I mean counting the things I see that are obviously his, I could fit them all in my room." Tia chuckles and moves on from Tom's complete lack of possessions. "So what do we still need to set up?"

Sabrina pulls out a check list. "I really do appreciate the help. We can work on decorations first. I was thinking a sign, some streams, and balloons. The banner and streams I've already got, but we're still waiting on the balloons."

Tia gives Sabrina a thumbs up. "No problem." She takes one end of the banner and starts climbing a ladder to security to the rafter above. While Sabrina lifts the other end with her psychic abilities. "God, I cannot get over how cool that is." She smiles and watches Sabrina at work.

"Thank you, but unlike you, my abilities can't really help in battle. Legally at least." Sabrina chuckles and breaks her concentration when she finishes.

Tia climbs down and asks a burning question. "I'm glad I can help too, because I didn't get Tom a gift. Should I run out and buy him something?" She didn't want to be rude and show up without a gift.

Sabrina dismisses this, "No, you're fine. I told everyone that gifts are optional. So Erika will probably get him something, but the others aren't obligated. So don't feel bad. I got him something special though." She winks.

Tia blushes, "Sabrina, I don't need to know that!"

Sabrina's eyes widen as she throws up her hands defensively. "No, that's not what I meant. Oh god, no. I got him this." She runs to the dinner tablet and shows Tia a very decorative picture frame with a picture of Tom and her. "It's an antique. The second I saw it I knew he'd love it. That's real gold leaf with emeralds embedded in the corners and everything." It shone beautifully in the light.

Tia looks in awe, "Oh wow, Sabrina that's beautiful. He'll love it." She felt embarrassed now for jumping to such a conclusion before. "Sorry that's the conclusion I jumped to."

Sabrina shakes her head, "It's fine, I've given you a really hard time about that in the past and I'm sorry."

Tia waves her hand dismissively, "Don't worry, I'm over it. After Tom's walked in on my changing twice I've kind of developed a bit thicker skin about it." Maturity goes a long way to explaining it too of course.

Sabrina shoots Tia a curious glance, "Twice, I remember the first time when you called, when was the second time?"

Tia blushes and subconsciously covers her chest, "I don't want to talk about it. He saw too much, but there's nothing I can do about it now."

Sabrina's eyes widen more, "Oh, sorry I brought it up." She quickly shifts topics, "Alright so next up I guess we should go pick up the food."

Tia stops Sabrina right there. "Whoa, pick up the food?" Sabrina has no idea the monster she's just awakened.

"Oh yeah, I was thinking of just getting one of those mini sandwich platters and other little appetizers. Is something wrong?" Sabrina asked exactly the _wrong _question.

Tia sighs, "Let me see the guest list." She waits patiently as Sabrina hands her the list. "Okay let's see. You and me obviously, plus Tom. So three plus, your brother, Anna, Erika, his parents, and what's this?" She points to two names marked maybe.

Sabrina clarifies, "Those are two of Tom's friends from Hoenn; they put down maybe on the RSVP."

Tia exhales, "Sabrina." She pauses. "When planning a part one does not simply put down maybe. Maybe is the difference between too much food and too little. Maybe is not a finite amount. Maybe is anarchy!" She crushes the paper in her hand.

"Whoa, Tia calm down." Sabrina steps back nervously.

"How can I be calm? A chef can't deal with a maybe. It's like Schrodinger's dinner plans. Are you just supposed to assume they are and aren't coming?" She looks at the paper and makes the final decision. "Okay, they are getting cut. I'll assume they aren't showing up."

Sabrina steps up, "Hey that's not fair. They are both very busy so it's not a sure thing if they can make it."

"Well _my _kitchen only deals in absolutes." She stands firmly.

"What kitchen? We're buying little sandwiches and maybe shrimp." Sabrina didn't quite know how to respond to this side of Tia. A side no one has ever seen before. Sans her family.

Tia grabs a piece of paper and starts writing down a long list of items. "Not anymore. I'm taking command of catering. Get me these items." She shoves the list in Sabrina's face.

She reads through it, "Tia, you're nuts. This will cost us a fortune."

Tia tosses her wallet at Sabrina. "I'll pay for it, this will be my gift to him."

Sabrina is still pretty stunned. "Okay?"

"That's, yes Chef." She corrects her.

"Um… yes Chef? Where will I get all this Tia?" Sabrina had a grasp on cooking, but Tia was in a league all her own. A lot of these ingredients were pretty exotic too.

"Chef." She quickly corrects. "Head to Viridian City, there's a big grocery store there where you'll find everything you need." Out of seemingly nowhere Tia grabs a long, white headband and secures around her forehead.

"Yes Chef." Sabrina is quick to get out of Tia's way. Especially with the beast she'd just awakened.

Tia runs into Tom's kitchen and checks out his equipment. She smiles, "This stove will do nicely." She runs her fingers over the surface. "You and I are going to get along well tonight friend." She checks his cupboards and cabinets before shakes her head. "Really Tom? No cooking utensils at all?" She sighs, but at least he had enough plates.

She quickly calls out Alakazam and teleports home. She runs inside and into the kitchen. She runs to a small cabinet labelled, Tia. She opens it up and rummages through it. "Let's see. My knife set, pots, pans, don't need my wok, and…"

Her mother walks in hearing the ruckus. "Dear, what's going on?"

"Hey mom, have you seen my whetstone?" She pops her head out from the cabinet.

Her mother gets a look of pure horror. "I swear I burned that headband. Tia, dear, please tell me you're not throwing a party." She opens a drawer and reluctant hands Tia the whetstone.

Tia smiles innocently and nods, "Sure am!"

"Your brother said something about this. I pray for poor Sabrina." Tia is however, not listening and instead gathering her things.

"Well see ya later mom." She waves anxiously goodbye and teleports back.

Meanwhile, in Viridian City, Sabrina teleports in and finds the grocery store Tia had mentioned. She walks up to a man stocking shelves. "Excuse me sir, I need help locating some items."

An older gentleman stands up and greets her warmly. "Sure thing ma'am, what do you need?" Sabrina hands him the list which he scans with great care. "Well you're quite detail oriented. Must me a pretty big party you're throwing." He laughs and leads her down the aisles.

Sabrina shifts awkwardly, "Not really, my friend Tia's just kind of taken charge of catering the affair."

The man stops and looks down at the paper again. "Well I'll be. I thought this was her handwriting. So little Tia's throwing another party. I'll tell you what, her parties are pretty well known around these parts."

"For both good and bad reasons?" Sabrina has a feeling being well known is not necessarily a good thing.

The man laughs, "She's a spit fire in the kitchen, but darn it if they aren't great parties afterwards. Thankfully, we destroyed that white headband of hers. Some of the people around town think it's the root of all evil." He laughs and the ridiculous superstition.

"She must have gotten a new one then. Well, this one looked a little old actually." Sabrina vaguely recalls noticing a small stain on the end of it as well as looking a bit aged.

The man freezes, "My god, then the rumors are true. No matter how many times you destroy it keeps coming back." He takes a very strangely serious tone all of a sudden. He shakes his head and resumes helping Sabrina shop. "I know she can be a handful, but just let her do her thing and stay out of her kitchen and you'll be fine." He assures Sabrina.

She nods and looks at the prices, "Wow, this place is way cheaper than the stores I usually shop at near me."

The man smiles proudly. "We take pride in quality products and low prices, that's why we don't carry a lot of name brands. We have a lot of locally grown and imported produce. I've worked here happily for the last thirty five years."

Sabrina's impressed, "Wow, thirty five years? That's great." Sabrina looks around and can definitely see the produce is very high quality compared to most major chains like in Saffron City.

"So where are you from ma'am? Kanto? Johto?" He politely strikes up conversation as he grabs a cart for Sabrina and starts filling it up.

"Kanto, born and raised. I'm Saffron City's gym leader." She is proud of her heritage.

"Oh a gym leader, sorry I didn't recognize you. I'm never been much of a trainer. So who's this party for anyway?" He politely keeps up the conversation.

"It's alright, I'd hardly call myself a celebrity. The party's for my boyfriend. Today's his birthday." She says with a warm smile. "I wanted to do something special to celebrate."

The man smiles, "Well that's really sweet of you. I'm guessing he's good friends with Tia, she doesn't throw parties like these for just anyone."

Sabrina confirms this, "Yes, they're best friends. The two travelled together for quite a while."

The man nods, "Now, I heard Tia finally followed in her brother and Samuel's grandson's footsteps. Heck, I was surprised when little Gary Oak took over Giovanni's gym." He may not be a trainer, but Viridian City was a small city so pretty much everyone knew everyone. So when Gary became a gym leader word spread quickly.

"Yeah, we were all a bit surprised by that one." Sabrina remembers Tom's surprise announcements. The very same conference that got her out of hot water.

The two finish up gathering all of Tia's ingredients. "Well that should do you just fine. We got everything she asked for."

Sabrina nods, "Thank you very much, this was a big help. Plus, this is all way cheaper than if I went shopping Saffron." She almost couldn't believe the savings.

The man laughs, "Glad to hear it. Feel free to come back anytime. Our doors are always open to customers. Tell your friends."

Sabrina smiles, "I certainly will." She gathers her groceries and checks out. The trip was pleasant enough, but she worries what it'll be like when she gets back. Groceries in tow, Sabrina teleports back to Tom's apartment and braces herself.

Inside is just what she could have imagined. Tons of cooking utensils and plates all set up. "Good, you're back. Did you get everything?"

Sabrina nods, "Yeah, here's your wallet." She tosses Tia her money and unloads everything on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah?" Tia gives Sabrina a look clearly indicating she forgot something.

Sabrina sighs, "Yes Chef."

"Good, I'll start preparing the sushi then." She cracks her knuckles and draws a large knife she'd holstered to her right arm. It shines like a jewel in the light. "You start preparing the finger sandwiches."

"Sushi? Um… Yes Chef." Sabrina begins unpacking the various items and starts preparing the food per Tia's detailed instructions.

Tia herself takes the knife in her left hand and looks at her reflection in the blade before she gets to work. She immediately starts cutting with precision and speed. Like a well-oiled machine. Tia's skills in the kitchen exceeded even her training capabilities. Though she's also helped her mom cook since she was old enough to hold a kitchen knife. She prepares the food rapidly, out pacing Sabrina by a mile.

"Wow Tia, how did you learn to cook like this?" Sabrina had a feeling Tia had a story behind this.

"I've told Tom a few times, but before I became a trainer I wanted to be a chef. Ever since I was old enough to help in the kitchen I'd assist my mom. Red and I loved to eat so Mom always had to prepare lots of food." She can't say much has changed all these years later. Red was still a nigh bottomless pit when it came to food. Same for Tia, but she tended to carbo load a lot more nowadays for her Adept training.

Sabrina chuckles, "Our father had the opposite problem; Morty and I were pretty picky eaters. Made it a bit easier for him too. Him and the nanny." Sabrina vaguely remembers those times, a lot of it is things Morty told her second hand. After losing their mother it became a lot harder for their dad to take care of them, but he managed. Sabrina looks at Tia as she works and noticed something she's surprised she missed. "You know, I just realized this. You're left handed aren't you?" Sure enough, Tia chopped with her left hand. As she recalled Tia held Pokeballs in her left hand as well.

Tia looks down and nods, "Yeah, funny story, when I was about three, my mom got me a little play kitchen. I was playing with the plastic knife, pretending to chop things and tried copying my mom. When I did what she did it didn't feel right. So I switched hands and mirrored her actions. She was pretty surprised when I was working better with my left hand." She never brought too much attention to this fact herself, because she's used to it.

After about a half hour the two are done. Tia sighs as she finishes plating the last of the food. She takes off the headband and rubs her brow. "That was a lot of fun." She says optimistically. Though Sabrina didn't exactly agree. She definitely left her mark in the kitchen. Pots, pans, and utensils all over the kitchen. Between cooking the rice, preparing the fish, and cutting all the vegetables Tia had made quite the mess. "I'll clean up the kitchen. People should be arriving soon."

Sabrina shakes her head, "I can help." She raises a hand and starts moving pots and pans to the sink and turning on the facet.

"Still so cool!" Tia was envious that Sabrina could do that.

She chuckles, "Well guests should start arriving shortly. Who do you think will be the first to arrive?"

Tia pretends to wonder, "Gee, I have no clue. Could it be Anna who lives in the city?" Tia finishes setting the table with paper plates and puts out the full spread. "This should be the perfect amount, with some left overs just in case people go back for seconds." Tia knows how to portion properly, plus there will still be some leftovers for Tom after the fact.

The two are interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. "Let's see if you were right." She answers the door, "Hey Anna." She politely lets her in.

"Hey Sabrina, hey Tia. Still loving the new hair style?" Anna still can't get over what a drastic change it was, but still she made it work.

Tia nods, "You know it." She leans against the open partitioned wall of the kitchen with her elbows rested on the opening. "Go ahead and help yourself." She gestures to the full spread.

Sabrina strikes up conversation. "So what have you been up to today?"

Anna smiles, "The usual, I had a few gym battles this morning and afternoon. Spent some time with…" She starts blushing.

"With who?" Sabrina wasn't in the know. Surprisingly, since from what she's heard, Anna and Tom talk all the time. Even hanging at the same café some days.

Tia chuckles, "Tom never told you?" She looks at Anna waiting for the answer.

"I was with my… boy… friend." She covers her face in embarrassment.

Sabrina's eyes widen, "You finally have a boyfriend? Who is he? Do we know him? Is he a trainer too?"

"Well, yes and yes to the last too." She finally comes down a bit. Still Anna was very nervous when it came to this subject matter. "Tia! You tell her."

Tia smiles and shakes her head, "It's my brother. She's dating Red." She turns to Anna. "Why are you so shy about this? Come on, embrace it. You have a boyfriend. That's exciting. Sabrina's isn't this shy about telling people."

Sabrina giggles into her hand. "I think Anna just like to feint the innocent routine to hide her true deviant nature." This is obviously baseless and unfounded, but Sabrina liked teasing her almost as much she does Tia.

Anna waves her hands in protest. "Don't make up lies!" The others share a laugh. "You two are mean."

"We're joking dear." Sabrina calms her down. "Still, I'm glad to hear you finally found someone. Tia's brother is a surprise, but good for you. Morty said you seemed a little lonely."

"Plus, you're doing better than me." Tia fully admits this.

"Speaking of, have you talked to Silver at all recently?" Anna was unsure if he was staying in touch.

Tia shakes her head, "No, and knowing him, he's probably travelling around the world with Giovanni. It's okay though, I'm willing to wait a bit longer. Plus, who knows? I might meet a nice guy in Hoenn. Not holding my breath of course." Tia's never been too desperate about relationships. While she still has strong feelings for Silver, she's willing to put them aside while he discovers who he really is.

Sabrina nods, "That's very mature of you." She agreed with Tia's notion. She turns back to Anna. "So what did you and Red do? I want all the details." She asks excitedly.

"She needs to know for her gossip column in the Indigo League newsletter." Tia laughs to herself.

"Well, we just grabbed drinks really. His neck was sore so I gave him a massage. He said something about his tyrannical sibling putting him in a head lock?" She looks straight to Tia with a look of confusion.

Tia smirks, "He had it coming."

"And here I thought it was brothers who did things like that. Way to break down gender norms." Not a very genuine congratulations. "Still that's sweet."

Anna nods, "He gave me one too." She sighs happily thinking about it. As if an enormous weight has been lifted off her back.

Sabrina's a little confused, but Tia knew what she meant. "Red gives great massages. He picked it up from our mom. I could never figure it out though. They always said I was too aggressive."

Sabrina laughs, "My, what a surprise." The three are interrupted once more by the doorbell. "That's probably Erika. I'll get it." She heads for the door and both Erika and Morty were at the door. "Oh you two arrived at the same time."

Erika smiles, "Hello Sabrina, yes I took the magnet train and as I got here I saw Morty strolling through the city."

Morty waves, "Hey sis, sorry I couldn't help you setup. The gym was swamped all day, it was nuts." He steps in and immediately notices the red hair leaning against the kitchen wall. "Hello there." He says suavely like it was the first time they've met.

"I can't look _that _different." Tia giggles.

Morty's jaw drops as he instantly recognizes her voice. "Tia?"

"Last I checked." She smirks and runs her hand through her spiked up hair.

"Wow, now that's a makeover. You make a good red head." He is impressed and had to admit she was a lot more attractive, though he wouldn't say it.

Erika's the next to notice. "Tia, oh wow. Your hair is so different!" She runs over excitedly.

"Geez Tia, your hair's getting a bigger fanfare than anything." Sabrina nudges her arm.

"No kidding, I definitely made the right choice with this one." She blushes red as her hair. "I figured I would change things up for Hoenn."

Sabrina looks at the time and glimpse out the window. "Tom should be here any minute. Alright, everyone hide."

They flip off the lights and take various hiding spots. Anna and Sabrina behind the couch, Tia and Morty in the kitchen, and Erika under the table. Everyone quickly silences their X-Transceivers as they hear approaching footsteps. Sabrina notices the faint glow of her X-Transceiver as Tom attempts to call her.

Moments later he walks in the door talking to his device. "Hey, Sabrina. Sorry if you're busy. Give me a call when you can." He hangs up as her closes the door and flips on the lights.

Suddenly everyone jumps out and shouts, "Surprise!"

After the initial shock Tom smiles from ear to ear. "Oh my god, Sabrina. Anna, Erika, Morty." He does a quick double take. "Tia?"

She giggles, "Right, the hair. Yeah. Surprise again."

Sabrina walks up and gives him a hug, "I felt bad we didn't get to celebrate your birthday last year so I wanted to surprise you."

Tom, still absolutely elated, says, "So that's why you were dodging my calls all day. Did you set this all up on your own?" He looks at all the decorations and food.

Sabrina shakes her head and motions towards Tia, "I had a little help from the chef over here." She chuckles.

Tia walks up and gives him a hug too. "Happy birthday Tom."

"Thanks Tia, also that hair. Was not excepting that. Looks good." He gives her a toothy grin. He looks to the table, "Wow, you prepared all this?"

Tia nods, "I figured you can't go wrong with sushi rolls. Sabrina made the sandwiches. I had no idea it was your birthday so I figured this was my gift to you."

He nods, "It means a lot." He's interrupted when Erika runs over and practically throws herself at him.

"Happy birthday!" She squeezes him tightly.

"Every year," he gasps for air as he pats her on the back to let him go. "Thank you, Erika. Excited as ever." The crowd gathers around as everyone starts eating and socializing. The party was small, but a big success for sure. Sabrina was glad to see everyone so happy.

A half hour or so later the door rings again. "Don't worry, I'll get it." Sabrina quickly walks over to the door. She quickly opens the door and smiles, "You're just in time."

From the outside an older man and woman walk in. The man has short black hair with a strong, but kind expression on his face. The woman beside him has a much softer expression with brown hair similar in color to Tom's. "Good, we didn't want to miss this." She says holding a cake in hand. "It's nice to see you again Sabrina." The two walk in and look at the apartment.

The man smiles and nods, "He always wanted to live here growing up. I remember. He would alwys tell Whitney and Anabel how he's going to live here some day. He definitely did just that."

Tom notices the two guests. "Mom? Dad?" Tom runs over to his parents happily. He notices the cake. "A cake?" He looks it over with the same looks as a child.

Tia walks over. "Hello, your Tom's parents?" She politely shakes his father's hand.

"Right, this is my friend, Tia." Tom introduces her. "She's actually going to heading for Hoenn soon."

Tia nods, "Yeah, which means I'm coming for your gym."

He laughs and smiles with a wide toothy grin, she now knows where Tom gets it. "I look forward to it. Training run in your family?"

She nods, "Yeah, you know my dad, Noland."

His eyes widen, "Noland? Well, I'll be. I thought his daughter's name was Tia. Well it's great to see you again after all these years. The last time I saw you and your brother, you were both still babies."

Tia smiles, "It's kind of funny really."

"What's that?" Norman looks curious.

"Well, you are an old friend of my dad and Sabrina's dad and now here we are. Tom and Sabrina are together, and I'm friends with them both." It did give her a very, it's a small world vibe. Some might say it was meant to be.

Norman laughs, "It's definitely a coincidence. Still, I'm glad to see you're following in your old man's footsteps. He was a fierce trainer back in his prime. Still is." It shows the two have a long history and a strong bond to this day. He looks over at the table, "Now if you'll excuse me, I see some sushi with my name on it."

Tia giggles, "Help yourself." She walks over to his mother next. "Let me help with that." She takes the cake and carefully lies it on the table.

"Thank you dear, did I hear right? You're Noland's daughter?" She asks with a cheery smile.

Tia nods, "Yeah, and he's still busy as ever." She can say he's made a lot more time for them than before which makes Tia and Red both very happy.

"Oh I'm sure, our daughter Anabel is a Frontier Brain too. She visits when she can, but that Scott keeps them busy that's for sure." This would have been a bombshell if her dad hadn't already let it slip before.

"I've heard, must be tough." Tia can definitely sympathize.

From over at the table Norman is talking with the other gym leaders. "Morty it's great seeing you again after all these years. How's your old man doing? Enjoying retirement?" He laughs to himself.

Morty nods, "Oh yeah, he's still as active as ever. He's acted as Sabrina's and my proxy a few times. For the most part he still loves seeing the world." His dad's always been adventurous, even despite of his age.

Norman does notice one guest he'd never met before. Anna for the most part stood quietly near Morty, but she didn't have much to say. "Hello, I don't believe we've met before." He shakes her hand.

"Hello sir, I'm Anna." She says sweetly, but feeling a little awkward.

Morty winces, "Oh Anna, I'm so sorry. Norman, this is Anna. Goldenrod's current gym leader." This was an especially important title to the former gym leader himself.

"Really? So Whitney stepped down?" This was news to him, but he did at least hear all the details on the Team Rocket attacks.

Anna nods, "Yeah, so I took over. Your son is actually how I got the position. His personal recommendation as well as my grandpa's really helped."

"Your grandfather?" Norman asks.

Anna nods again, "Yes, Pryce is my grandfather. I was born and raised in Snowpoint. My dad was the gym leader, my sister is the current, and now I'm one too." She smiles sweetly. Anna's more and more confident about embracing her title.

"Well that's wonderful for you. What made you want to be a Normal Type gym leader though?" With Ice Types in her family it's a little surprising to see this change.

Anna giggles nervously, "I guess I've always been a bit of a black Mareep. I've never cared for the cold. I originally wanted to be a breeder, but now I really want to do both." She pauses and snaps her fingers, "Tom's grandparents helped a lot too. Are Haru and Gale your parents or your wife's?" She'd never thought to ask before.

Norman smiles from ear to ear. "They're my mom and dad, and two of the best breeders I'll ever know. Growing up around all the Pokémon they raised inspired me to become a gym leader." He shifts the topic slightly, "Well you much be quite the trainer to get Tom's personal recommendation. I know my boy's very strict about that."

Anna don't know about that. As far as she knew Tom was always happy to give a strong trainer their dues. "It's probably because of how well I handle Regigigas." She laughs, but instantly covers her mouth.

Norman raises a brow, "Regigigas huh?" He smirks, "Landorus and I will have to battle you two sometime." He says discreetly.

"You have a legendary Pokémon too?" Anna whispers.

He nods, "I am surprised Regigigas awoke without the trio present. You know your grandpa has Regice I'm sure." Anna nods. Norman turns his head to Tia. "Her dad has Registeel. I don't know if she knows that. As for Regirock, many say he's buried in an ancient tomb somewhere in Orre." Norman lets a lot of important information slip.

Anna listens intently, "Don't tell Tia that or she'll be begging for a battle with them. She's already beaten my grandpa's Regice."

Norman looks more than a little stunned. "Wait what? Tia has a legendary Pokémon?" He suddenly saw her in a new light.

Anna quickly corrects him, "No, she just used her normal team. She doesn't have a legendary Pokémon. She is an Adept though."

"I see, honestly that's more impressive." Norman makes sure to remember her. Especially so now.

"Yeah, Tom thought so too." She had to admit Tia was coming up in the world quick.

After a few more minutes everyone gathers around the table to sing Tom happy birthday and watch him blow out the candles. Everyone helps themselves a slice of cake as they continue socializing. Until, finally, the party dies down. Anna's the first to go, because she had a lot of matches planned for the next day.

Then Tia, which Sabrina meets her at the door. She steps outside with Tia onto the roof. "I wanted to thank you gain Tia." She politely offers a hug.

Tia brings it in with a cheery grin. "It's no problem Sabrina, I love catering for parties. It's a lot of fun."

Sabrina responds awkwardly, "Yeah… fun." She quickly reaches into Tia's pocket and pulls out her headband. "Gallade Psycho Cut!" She quickly calls out her Pokémon to destroy the headband.

"Sabrina! What did you do that for?" She runs over to gather the tattered ribbons of her headband before the small pieces fly away in the wind.

"That headband is evil incarnate." She had no qualms with what she did. "It's better this way."

Tia's appalled, "I can't believe you did that!" She stomps off in anger. Tia leaves in a huff, not even thinking to gather up her things from the kitchen. She makes her way down the elevator and into the city below. For no other reason than to fume her anger. "I can't believe Sabrina just destroyed my favorite headband like that."

As Tia walks through the streets a young man unknowingly passes her. He's fixated on a small sheet of paper with an address on it. Wearing a white hat with a green at the base, a red shirt with black accents and matching black shorts. He looks up at the apartment and mutters to himself, "_This looks like the place_." He walks in and heads for the elevator, as per Sabrina's instructions. He steps into the elevator and rides it to the top floor. He looks out from the roof. "_Pays to be the champ that's for sure._" He pulls a camera out from a side holster and points it out towards the city below. He adjusts the lens and focus the image and quickly snaps a photo. He checks the photo, "_City gives off a lot of light. Almost blew out the image. Should have brought a different lens._" He looks more thoroughly at it, "_Does give a nice bloom effect though._" This young man is well versed in photography. He walks up to the door and knocks politely.

Sabrina answers, "Hello, you're Brendan right?"

He nods, "Yeah, you're Sabrina?"

She welcomes him in, "Yes and come right in." She side steps and lets him in the apartment.

He walks over to Tom who is with his parents. "Hope I'm not too late." He gives Tom a firm handshake.

Tom looks stunned, "Brendan? Wow, I wasn't expecting you here."

"Yeah, my dad had me running around doing some field research. Looks like you're having a good time." Brendan looks around and sees Tom's place. "Doing pretty well for yourself too."

Tom smirks, "Jealous?" He jokes. "So how have you been? It's been a few years."

Brendan shrugs, "The same mostly, I'm actually going to be travelling around Hoenn for a bit in a couple weeks here. Thought it was about time to see more of the region, but I'm still not fully committed to being a trainer."

Tom fully understands, "Yeah, you've never cared for battling the Pokémon League, I know. Actually, funny enough. I know a girl who's heading to Hoenn soon too. She plans on taking on the league though." The odds of them running into each may be slim though.

"Cool, so how's your party been?" Brendan notices it's obviously winding down now, as only Sabrina, Erika, and his parents remain.

"Good, couldn't be better." He puts an arm around Sabrina.

"Hold that pose," he pulls out his camera.

"Still like messing with those DRR Cameras?" Tom smirks.

"It's DSLR and you know I love photography. Say cheese." He snaps a quick picture of Tom and Sabrina together. He shows it to them, pleased with the results.

Sabrina is quite impressed, "Wow, that's professional quality."

Brendan nods proudly, "Thanks, I won't bore you with all the lighting and framing details, but this was a great place to shoot. When I get the picture processed I'll send you two a few."

"You and your cameras man. I'm guessing you're going to be taking a lot of pictures when you're travelling around Hoenn." Brendan's as enthusiastic about photography as Tom is about training.

"You know it. I bought a special memory card just for it too. It's going to be weird leaving home though. I'm excited, but I'm still kind of nervous. You know what I mean?"

Sabrina and Tom both nod, "Yeah, I was nervous when I first left on my journey through Hoenn, but look how it turned out." Tom doesn't regret his decision for a second.

"It helps if you're travelling with others too." Sabrina gives her own opinion on the matter.

Tom knows this is true for sure, "Oh yeah, that makes it a lot better than just being on your own. Our friend, Tia, the one who's going to Hoenn. Her and I travelled together for a while when she was starting out."

Brendan mulls that over in his head, "Really? I may keep that in mind, but I don't really know anyone to go along with me."

Tom smiles, "It's something to think about." Though Sabrina feels there's something else going through his head.

Brendan looks at the time, "Wow it's later than I thought. I should get out of your guys' hair. Sorry I could make it sooner."

Tom puts up his hands defensively. "No, it's fine. You can stick around if you want."

Brendan shakes his head, "Nah it's fine. I'll call you sometime. It was great seeing you again, dude. Nice meeting you too Sabrina." Brendan shows himself the door and steps out onto the roof. "_Someone to travel with_?" The wheels were turning in his head for sure.

Sabrina smiles and looks at Tom with a look that said, 'I know what you're doing'. "What?" Tom plays innocent.

"Scouting out a potential travelling companion for Tia?" Sabrina giggles.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He plays innocent. "Travelling is always better with friends though."

Sabrina smiles and takes Tom's hands. "You're right, so did you like the party?"

"Like that's even a question. I loved it. I was so surprised. I couldn't have asked for more. Plus Tia's cooking. Not going to lie. I'm really going to miss that." He pats his stomach to show he's satisfied and full.

"Yeah, I can't really compete with a chef like her. My cooking's getting better though." Sabrina's made great strides, maybe she'll ask Tia for some lessons in the future.

"Things sure have changed." Tom looks on with a distance, peaceful look.

"They really have. So much has happened, but we've all come out of it better than we started off. It's kind of crazy how much of that was thanks to her." Sabrina couldn't deny it. Tia coming into their lives changed so much.

Tom gives Sabrina a kiss. "Now we can sit back, get stronger, and wait for her to catch up." Tom wasn't about to slack off. He's reach the peak, but he wants to stay on top. Not even Tia's going to take that away from him without the battle of her life.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. So I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter of Shokugeki no Tia. Yeah, the Soma parallels are pretty obvious with this one. I kind of realized when I gave her spiked, red hair mixed with the fact she loves to cook that this had to be done. Plus, the series takes a bit more tongue and cheek approach from here on out. Not a huge departure from what's already been established, but like Johto I use the beginnings of new arcs as a chance to reflect and see how i can tweak and fix the series. Also, this is by far the longest chapter yet. Probably won't be topped for a long time either.<p> 


	78. Chapter 76: Reunion

Chapter 76: Reunion

Only one week remained until Tia leaves for Hoenn and she already had her entire day planned. She thought today would be as good a day as any to visit some of the gym leaders she's made friends with over the course of her journey in Kanto. Tia eagerly got dressed. As much as she wanted to flaunt it, she kept her Hoenn apparel in her closet until the day she was ready to leave. She had a big day ahead of her so she wanted to leave as soon as she could.

"I'm heading out mom." Tia ran out of the house with a wave.

"Have fun dear." Her mother smiled as she washed some dishes. "_Even when she's taking a break that girl is nonstop._" She giggled to herself and resumed her housework.

Tia ran outside and called out her Alakazam. "Alright, first stop Cerulean City."

Red noticed her as he walked up to the house. "Yo T, where are you off to?"

"Cerulean City. I'm going to go visit some of the gym leaders before I leave. I made friends with a few of them so I thought it'd be nice to check in on them." She had a few ideas in mind too, hopefully they weren't too busy.

"Cool, hey I've got nothing else going on today. Do you mind if I tagged along? I haven't seen the gyms in while. It'd be cool to see how they changed." Red didn't want to impose though.

Tia smiled, "Sure, I don't mind. I'm going to be making a lot of stops though so we aren't staying too long." She had Alakazam teleport them to Cerulean City. In flash, they were in front of the Pokémon Center with the gym a little ways down the road. "Hope Misty's not too busy. I didn't get much chance to talk to her at the party."

Red looked around the city. "I haven't been in Cerulean in a long time. It's changed a bit." He spotted the gym. "Though somethings never change." The exterior of the gym was exactly how he remembered it. "At one time Misty was the youngest gym leader in Kanto. She was only thirteen when I battled her."

"Wow that young?" Tia certainly didn't know that little factoid. "Wait, does that mean Misty's twenty?" Another surprising fact.

"Yeah. You didn't know that?" Red was surprised since Tia said they had become friends. Still Tia was sure Misty was her age or slightly older.

The two made their way into the gym. Inside was the familiar sight of the Cerulean City Gym's aquarium filled with all of Misty's various Water Types. A few Tia didn't recognize are in the mix too. "Wow, what's that one?" She pointed to a fish Pokemon with a blue streak on the side with sharp eyes.

Red shrugs, "I don't know? I'm not familiar with a lot of Pokémon outside of Kanto or Johto." Tia looked perplexed and curious, but she seemed to ignore the obvious solution. "Hey, why don't you check with your Pokedex?" This seemed like a fairly obvious answer. Though Red could easily do the same thing as well.

Tia scrambled to pull it out and laughed nervously. "I never use this thing, it's a wonder why Prof. Oak gave it to me." She scans the Pokémon with her dex and checked its information out. "Oh it says here it's a Basculin. Specifically a Blue-Striped Form. It's known as the hostile Pokémon and has the abilities Rock Head and Adaptability. Says they rarely can have the ability Mold Breaker too. Indigenous to Unova. Wow, this is a wealth of information when you actually look at it." She may not want to tell Prof. Oak that she'd frivolously ignored his invention.

"Well let's find Mist, you said you didn't want to waste too much time." Red headed into the main portion of the gym.

Tia caught up and stepped in to see the arena was completely empty. "Must be a slow day at the gym." She looked around for Misty. She looked down a couple halls as well. "Yeah it's completely empty in here." She shouted back to Red.

"Hello?" He asked louder echoing throughout the main arena. To no avail however. The gym was truly empty as far as they could tell.

"She has an office or like a living space doesn't she?" Tia didn't know the layout too well, but she figured if Misty's gym was anything like Sabrina's then she lived in it too.

From one of the back halls they heard a faint voice. "One second, I think I heard something." They recognized Misty's voice. Then a chuckle, "Yeah, I hope it's a trainer. I've had such a dry spell lately. Unlike you, you said you've had like five or six trainers coming by every day?" Misty stepped out in a white, one piece suit and a light blue jacket. She immediately spotted Red and Tia. "Hey I'll call you back." Misty hung up and walked over to Tia to get a better look. It takes her a second to register who she was. Then she gets a better look at her face. "Tia, this is a surprise!"

Tia nodded, "Sorry, if I showed up unannounced, thought it'd be a surprise."

"It's definitely a surprise." She examined Tia's hair more thoroughly. "Very surprising. So you decided to join the red haired club." Misty giggled.

"She's gotten a lot of that lately." Red spoke up. "So hitting a bit of a dry spell you say?"

Misty sighed, "Yeah, not a lot of trainers are coming by lately. I'm guessing it's just that time of year."

"Who were you on the phone with? They sounded busy from what you said." Tia asked.

Misty got a little flustered. "Oh, um, it was no one." She looked back to Red. "So Red what brings you along too?"

He shrugged, "Well we didn't get to talk much at Tia's party. Figured I check in and see how the gym was doing."

"Oh right, you were there. Wait, you're from Pallet Town too. So I guess you two have been friends since you were kids?" Someone clearly didn't tell Misty about their relation.

Tia clarified, "We're siblings actually. I guess I should have mentioned first."

"Don't worry Mist, you aren't the only one who's not made the connection." Red laughed it off and walked over to the two.

"Misty," she quickly clarified. "Yeah, I never heard about that. So what brings you by?"

Tia smiled sweetly. "Well I'm leaving for Hoenn in a week so I wanted to take a day to stop by and say hi to all the gym leader friends I've made in Kanto. You were the first on the list."

Misty smiled as well, "That's sweet of you. You want a battle?" Misty's itching for a good battle.

"Yeah Tia, you can lead in with your Heracross." Red snickered to himself.

Chills ran down Misty's spine at the mere thought of a Bug Type and it shows. "Red! That's not nice." Tia knew firsthand about Misty's phobia.

"I swear, you haven't changed at all." Misty regained her composure. "Between you and Tom, I'm not sure who's more annoying."

Tia defended Tom though, "Well at least Tom's taking more responsibilities now. Plus, he patched things up with Sabrina."

Misty nodded, "You're right. Red, you're more annoying."

"Thanks sis, glad I know you've got my back." He rolled his eyes and walks out of the arena.

Misty looked hopeful, "I know you're busy today, but I'd love it if you stopped by some other time this week and had a real battle with me. I'm dying for a battle."

Tia couldn't ignore a request like that. "Yeah and we can go all out with our best Pokémon." Tia was more than happily do that.

"I wouldn't want it any other way." Misty replied excitedly. "So where are you off to next?"

"Vermillion City. I figured stopped by to see how Surge is doing would be nice." Tia recalled her last run with him. Wherein he begged for forgiveness and offered her his position as Vermillion City gym leader as recompense.

"Well I won't hold you up then." Misty said her goodbyes.

Tia shows herself out, "Red, we're going." She passed him staring at the Water Types. "Next stop Vermillion City." She called out Alakazam and teleported them out.

"Not all our trips are going to just a quick meet and greet are they?" Red can only imagine who all Tia's going to be visiting.

"Don't worry, I'll probably visit Misty tomorrow so I'll spend a couple hours with her. It's just today, I've got a schedule, because I'm visiting a lot of people." Tia explained her plan.

"Alright, so to Vermillion City gym to see Surge then." Red put his hands behind his head.

An old man overhears this and spoke up. "The lieutenant? I think I heard someone say he's on the S.S. Anne right now." The man rubbed his beard trying to remember. He then moved on about his business.

Tia hesitates for a second. Red was quick to notice. "Hey, what's wrong sis?"

Tia shook her head, "Nothing, just got a weird sense of Déjà vu." She quickly headed for the S.S. Anne with Red. "Oh man, I get to climb aboard this beauty again." She was absolutely giddy.

"I know! This ship's so awesome. They just finished repairing it too. Some attack by Team Rocket went sour and they like demolished most of the ship in the process. She's looking good as new now." Red shared Tia's enthusiasm for ships and the sea. While mentioning a skirmish in Tia's past she'd rather not recall.

"Yeah… Team Rocket." Though Tia recalled being responsible for most of the collateral damage thanks to Dugtrio's Earthquake, but she didn't tell Red that.

A man stood guard on the dock to the ship. "Excuse me sir, we're looking for Lt. Surge and we heard he was on the S.S. Anne." Tia glimpsed up and sees plenty of men running around on deck with large crates.

The guard confirmed this, "He is. Are you two looking to challenge him?" He can definitely see that Tia and Red were trainers.

Tia shook her head, "No, we've gotten out Thunder Badges. We just wanted to stop by and say hello."

"Well come on board then. He's pretty busy right now though. Just be careful of everyone moving crates. A big shipment is going out." He stepped aside and let the two on. Naturally, Tia and Red excitedly climbed aboard.

They glimpsed out at the ocean from the deck. "Now I'm even more excited for Hoenn." Tia can only imagine what it'll be like travelling on the seas of the Hoenn region.

"That will be pretty awesome I bet. We're going to be visiting Cinnabar too, right?"

Tia winked, "We'll see." She turned and spotted Lt. Surge lifting crates and shouting out orders to the men on board.

"Come on, that these shipments need to go out today!" He handed off crates and moves a few around while trying to keep their workflow smooth.

"Work hard Surge?" Red caught his attention.

Surge paused for a second to recognize them. "Red and Tia?" He ran over to them and gave them both a big pat on the back. "It feels like it's been forever since we last saw each other Red. And Tia, you've changed so much too." He said proudly after knowing them way back when. "I still remember our battles. Red and your Charmeleon toasted my Pokémon. Tia, your Dugtrio's Earthquake really did a number of my Electric Types." He laughed and patted them again. Red stumbling as he did so.

"Yeah I remember, so what are you loading up here?" Tia looked at all the crates that read fragile. She knew it was not the same as last time.

Surge walks over and pried one open. "Their toys, we hosted a charity drive at the gym. These are going to Unova and Hoenn. There are a few orphanages in those regions we did this for." Surge grinned excitedly at his charitable act.

"You really are just a big Teddiursa aren't you?" She nudged his arm. "It's great you're helping all these kids too."

Surge rubbed the back of his neck feeling embarrassed. "All I did was host the event. It's everyone's generosity that got us all this." He humbly admitted. "I donated what I could."

"Still, to take care of all this by yourself is definitely something." Red watched the men running around like well-oiled machines. "Most people would have Machamp doing this kind of work."

Surge led them down deck. "I have man and Pokémon working together to make sure this all goes smoothly. We have a lot more work to do today though."

"Alright, we just stopped by to say hello and see how things were going." Tia's very happy to see Surge was back on the straight and narrow. She almost couldn't believe he was the same guy who once worked for Team Rocket.

"Well it was nice seeing you two again. Stop by anytime if you ever want a real battle." Lt. Surge would make sure he had time to battle them if they ever came around. He would love to see how much stronger the two have gotten since their early days in Kanto.

They stepped off the ship and Tia called out her Alakazam once more. "Alright, next stop Celadon City."

They teleported in and are immediately wrapped up in the gentle fragrance of flowers all around them. "Celadon huh? I do love visiting the Game Corner here." Red commented.

"Yeah, but we're here to see Erika." Tia excitedly headed towards the gym.

"I've never gotten any chances to talk to Erika. She wasn't a gym leader when I was getting my badges. I've heard she's really good though." Red got a glimpse at the gym. "It's very nature themed. I've seen the gym when I've stopped by Celadon in the past. The previous leader had it look like a giant greenhouse."

"The interior is still a greenhouse. I guess she's added the perfume store in herself. The gym definitely has that feminine touch." They walked in where the smell of perfume is strong in the air. Tia took a whiff. "Smells lovely."

Red wonders to himself, "You think Anna would like some perfume?"

Tia giggled, "She doesn't wear a lot of perfume, but I'm sure she'd love it."

"I don't know what fragrance she likes though." He thought hard about what was really an obvious answer.

Tia giggled again, "Vanilla?" Simple, elegant, and the perfect choice for Anna.

"Yeah. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense." Red walked up to the counter as a woman stepped out. "Excuse me, I'm looking for some perfume for my girlfriend. Do you have anything Vanilla?"

Tia stepped up beside Red, "We'd also like to see Erika."

"Right, that too." Red added.

The woman shook her head, "I'm afraid Erika's in the middle of a battle right now. All challengers need to sign up. We're sorry for the inconvenience, but the gym's been overrun with challengers recently."

"Oh? Well, we're not trainers. I mean we are, but that's not why we're here. Erika's a friend of mine. I was hoping just to stop in and see how she's doing."

"Well if that's the case, I can allow that. Just follow me." She led them through the back and through the maze of hedges and flowers.

"Wow, she's really changed up the gym." Tia remembered it being a giant garden, but not nearly this intricately arranged.

The woman spoke up, "The gym is going through a transition. We've hired new gym trainers to battle other trainers before getting the chance to battle the gym leader. Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova already use this model. Our current champion has decided that Kanto and Johto should follow suit." Tia can see how this added a new level of challenge to the gym.

"Cool, Tom chose to do this? So all the gyms are going to be like this?" That should make things a lot more interesting. If she didn't have her badges already, she'd love to test out one of these newly formatted gyms.

"Yes and do you know the champion?" She's surprised to hear how informal Tia was when referring to Tom.

"Yeah, we travelled together for a while. I became friends with Erika through him in a way. I know she treats him like a brother." Though, Tia knew there's a little more to it than that.

She laughed, "Yes she does. I guess that means you're Tia?"

Tia proudly admitted to this, "My reputation proceeds me." They step up to Erika's battlefield where she fought a rather experienced looking trainer.

"Charmeleon use Fire Fang!" Charmeleon leapt forward, fangs ignited in a fiery blaze, and biting down on an already fatigued Gloom.

The referee makes the call, "Gloom is unable to battle the winner is the challenger Chad."

Erika called back her Pokémon and walks up to the challenger. "You battled very well. You have earned the Rainbow Badge." She presented him his badge and wished him the best in the future.

"That brings back memories." Red vividly remembers all the times he had earned a gym badge.

"I know what you mean. I can't wait to get to Hoenn and start earning gym badges again." It was a feeling of pride and accomplishment. She remembers all the times she's earned a gym badge. The satisfying feeling of knowing she truly earned the win. Once Erika finished up, Tia waved to her. "Hey Erika!"

Erika noticed Tia and ran over. "Tia! It's great to see you again. What brings you by today?"

"Just thought I'd stop by and say hi. I heard you've been really busy." Tia hoped she's got some time to talk at least.

"Yes, very busy." She looked at Red, "You must be her brother, Red." Erika offered a gentle handshake.

"Nice to meet you. You've got quite the setup here." Red's a bit stunned by the aesthetics of her gym. Definitely sticking to the theme of the gym. "When I was still earning my badges it was your mom who was in charge wasn't it?"

Erika nodded, "You're right." She beamed with joy that someone paid so much attentions to the design of her gym. So much time and effort went into it, she wishes more people would mention it.

One of Erika's assistants walked up and handed Red a small bottle of perfume. "Your perfume." She said sweetly and handed it off to him.

Red paid and put it in his backpack awkwardly. "It's not for me. It's for someone else." He tried to explain the situation to Erika.

Erika giggled, "It's for Anna, right?" Erika had managed to squeeze that detail out of Anna and Tia at Tom's party so she was all up to speed on their relationship statue. "I'm sure she'll love that fragrance." Erika was the resident expert on the matter. "Anyway, please come with me. We can talk more over tea."

She guided them through the greenhouse. As she did Tia noticed a Pokémon through the trees. It followed around and watched them. Tia grinned from ear to ear and called out to it. "Hey Celebi!" Tia waved to the little, time traveling Pokémon. Celebi excitedly flew out of the trees and towards Tia. He excitedly flew into her arms. "It's been a while."

"Add another legendary Pokémon my sister has seen to the list." Red snickered. "Seriously, I think I'll be more surprised about the ones you haven't seen at this point." Tia has pretty much told him all the ones she felt like she should disclose. Tia didn't want to out any of her friends for being legendary trainers. Though she did tell him about Entei and a few other run ins. Red's Pokeball actually popped open as his own legendary Pokemon emerged. "Mew?" Red was shocked.

"Well, look who decided to say hi." Erika giggled and led them to her little break area for tea. It was a tranquil little area with a nice view of the sun shining through a clearing in the trees. A lattice gateway and shrub walls closed it off from the other areas of the greenhouse. Erika calmly poured their drinks while the others ate their lunches.

"Delicious." Tia commented. She never drank much tea, but Erika's definitely gave her good reason to consider it more. "Why am I not surprised you brew the best tea."

Erika giggled once more, "Thank you, but you beat me in the kitchen any day." One of the gym trainers caught Erika's attention though. One of her girls seemed to be sulking to herself. "Mary, are you still sulking?" Erika knew she was upset, but she also felt that it wasn't healthy for her to be so down about everything that's gone on.

Mary sighed, "Sorry Erika, I've been trying my best to distract myself, but I can't help it." Something weighed heavy on her mind.

"What's the matter?" Tia couldn't help wonder.

"Yeah, what's got you down?" Red showed his concern.

Mary simply sighed. Erika shook her head, "Mary met a trainer who challenged the gym. She took quite a liking to him, but then he left with barely so much as a goodbye. I told her that's what happens and that's why she doesn't date trainers." Though Erika didn't really care for the trainer in question herself.

"I know how you feel Mary. I dated a guy like that once. You'll find someone else." Tia comforted her with tales of her own past relationships. "Guys can be jerks sometimes." This statement made Red feel he was in a bit of an awkward position. The sole man in the room.

Mary shook her head, "I know, Ryoko made it clear he didn't really feel that way about me anyway. So it shouldn't be too surprising."

"Wait, Ryoko?" Tia's heard that name before, but she figured it couldn't be the same guy.

"Do you know him?" Mary's head perked up.

"Depends, what does he look like?" Tia asked carefully.

"Very tan, brown hair, and brown eyes. I'm not great at describing people." Mary confessed.

Tia knew the most distinguishing feature. "Did he have a shiny Metagross?"

Mary's eyes widened. "So you do know him!"

Tia shook he head, "Yeah, but only in passing. I battled him once that's about it. Sorry I don't have more for you." She didn't lie. She did thoroughly wreck his Metagross with Tom's Rayquaza, but this was still a half-truth. Tia didn't want to upset Mary anymore by telling her the whole truth. Ryoko was not the trainer Mary thought he was, but a member of Team Cipher. Which in itself raised a lot of very important questions.

They finish their tea when Erika checked the time. "This is a shame, but our next trainer is scheduled to arrive any minute now. I'm sorry we could talk longer." Erika humbly apologized.

Tia dismissed this, "Don't worry about it. We should get going too." She said politely and headed out with Red. Once outside Tia spoke up, "Well that was interesting."

"Yeah, small world. You happened to meet a trainer she kind of had a thing for." Red found it funny, not knowing the full story.

Tia shook her head and spoke more urgently. "No, Ryoko isn't just some trainer. He's a member of Team Cipher. A high ranking one apparently too. I have no idea what he was planning, but I couldn't tell Mary all that. I was afraid how she'd take it." Tia called out her Pokemon once more and tells Alakazam their next destination. "Alright, we're off to Cinnabar Island next." Seeing Cinnabar again was definitely an exciting prospect for Tia. The weather, the ocean, and getting to see Blaine again will be nice as well. She expected this to be a small sample of what Hoenn will be like for her.

They instantly get teleported away to the warm, tropical weather of Cinnabar. "I don't visit here nearly as much as I should." Red's feelings about the climate mirrored Tia's. "Hey, what's up with the gym?" Red noticed that there was something off about it. Like the gym was closed or something. Lights off and a notice on the door.

"That's weird?" Tia examines the note saying Blaine was not accepting challenges at this time. "Is he sick or something?" Tia knocked regardless.

To her surprise, someone actually answered. A man walks up to the door. "Sorry, Blaine's not accepting challenges at this time." He pointed to the obvious sign.

"Can we talk to him? We're friends of Blaine. Tell him Tia and Red are here to see him." Tia said through the door, hoping that will get Blaine to come out. "Is he alright?" Tia asked concerned for him.

After a few minutes a disheartened Blaine walked up to the door. He opened up and put on a fake smiled. "Tia and Red, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you by?" He acted as if everything was alright.

"Blaine, what's going on?" Tia asked with a suspicious glance.

"Nothing at all Tia. Why do you ask? By the way, I love the new look." He swiftly tried to divert their attention from the real issue.

"Blaine, I know something's going on. What's bothering you?" Tia was not going to be so easily distracted.

Blaine sighed and gave up the facade. "I'm sorry you two. It's just something awful has happened recently. It was all my fault. I thought I could trust him and this is what he turns around and does to me." He berated himself over something.

"Woah, Blaine slow down. Who are you talking about?" Red tried calming him down. Red gathered someone stabbed Blaine in the back, but over what and how the real question was.

Blaine began explaining, "Not too long ago a trainer came through here to challenge the gym. He was talented, but was missing something. He stuck around for a while and trained until he could beat me in a gym battle. He was a nice, young man. Barely older than you two. At least, he pretended to be a respectable individual. I grew close to him and trusted him. I was fooled." Blaine shook his head in disgust. "When I least expected it he came in and stole Mewtwo's data. The entire database's worth of information of his development down to his genetic structure. All of it stolen. I was a fool." Blaine berated himself once more.

Tia gasped, "Who did this?"

"His name was Ryoko." Blaine solemnly confessed.

"Team Cipher!" Tia balled her fist. "We have to get it back." She implored.

"We can't." Blaine hated to admit.

"Why not? We just go to Orre, storm their base, and take it back by force." Tia was a bit quick to the trigger. She figured it wouldn't be quite so cut and dry, but with Red, Tom, and the help of the other trainers with legendary Pokemon it should be easy.

Blaine still denied her plan. "It's not that simple I'm afraid. Cipher controls Orre. Any foreign entity, in other words trainers, tried to interfere that would be the same as attack against a government building. You would be arrested and detained. Cipher is untouchable in Orre."

The whole time Red can't help this that something didn't add up here. "I know this is bad, but why did the agents let this happen? You think they would have stopped this." Red seemed to know about a higher power than Tia did.

"Agents?" Tia briefly thought of Six.

"I don't know? They always say 'their master has his reasons'. Whatever that means." Blaine was never satisfied with that answer. "Tom clearly didn't know, because he would have been the one who would have most likely interfered and stopped this. Please, if you two will excuse me. I need some time to myself. I really do appreciate that you two came to see me. Good luck in Hoenn Tia." He said his goodbyes to the twins and headed back inside.

Tia sighed, "Well that's depressing. So there's nothing we can do?"

Red shrugged, "I don't know about you, but I'm not about to make enemies with an entire foreign government. If this is a real issue then the agents will do something."

Tia agreed begrudgingly, "You're right. No matter how much I wished you weren't."

"You and me both sis. So what now?" Red asked.

Tia smiled, "Only one gym leader left to visit." She called out Alakazam one final time. "Teleport us to Viridian City."

In split second they were there. Red smirked, "Gary huh? This will be interesting." He looked at Tia, already having any idea of where this was going.

The twins walked into the gym. The gym had been since reconstructed after Tia and Giovanni's battle. The new interior was much more similar in design to an indoor stadium with large arched openings along the walls. "Gary's real fixed the place up. Think it's large enough to contain his ego?" Red chuckled to himself.

"I thought I felt a lot of hot air blow in." Gary stepped out of the back with his own retaliation. "What brings you two around?"

"T's been touring around the region today saying hi to a bunch of the gym leaders she'd made friends with." Red explained.

"Saved the best for last?" Gary smirked.

"Sure we'll go with that." Tia giggled. "So how has being a gym leader been for you?" Tia figured he's pretty experienced at it by this point.

"I really like it. It's different being on the receiving end of all these challenges. Met a lot of really strong trainers this way too. Though this is someone I've been dying to face." He looked at Tia. He knew why she was here.

"Glad we're on the same page. Do you have time for a battle?" Tia was eager to show Gary how much she's learned since they'd last really gotten to be together.

"For you, always. It'll have to be a quick one. Three-on-three okay with you?" Gary still had a few challengers expected today.

Tia nodded, "Works for me, grab your best Pokemon and we can battle right now. I can't wait to show you what I've learned." To Tia this more than anything thus far felt completely surreal. Going up against Gary, one-on-one. A guy she once regarded as the strongest trainer she knew next to her dad and brother. Now they stood on opposite ends of the battlefield. Tia couldn't be more excited.

"Alright, let's begin with Pidgeot." Gary calls out his first Pokemon.

Tia smiled nostalgically as Pidgeot eyed Tia happily. "I remember that Pidgeot. Well here's my first Pokemon. Go Ampharos." Tia calls out her go to Electric Type. "Okay Ampharos, we can't expect to be able to hit that Pidgeot too easily. So we'll have to play defensively until we find a good opening."

Gary nodded approvingly. "You're a strategist huh?" Gary's impressed, he never thought that'd be Tia's style. Despite how much she's mellowed out.

"You know it. Signal Beam!" She had Ampharos stay back and fire a beam into the air. Though this was quickly dodged by Pidgeot.

"Quick Attack." Gary had Pidgeot swoop in and attack Ampharos head on.

Tia had a tough call. She wanted to dodge, but she knows her Ampharos can survive a hit from a Quick Attack no problem. Which would set her up for the perfect chance to strike back with another attack. Tia sees Pidgeot flying in even quicker. "Ampharos stand your ground and use Signal Beam."

Signal Beam wasn't going to be very effective either, but this was the optimal play in Tia's mind. The attack landed head on with Pidgeot, but he struck through and hit Ampharos with his beak. "That was an interesting choice?" Gary didn't get it at first, but he quickly caught on. Pidgeot flew overhead, but staggered slightly. "No way!"

"Thirty percent of Paralysis and ten percent chance of Confusion. It was a gamble, but you know me. Good to see my luck paid off." Tia gave Gary a thumbs up.

"You and your insane luck, I swear." Gary couldn't even be mad. It's just how Tia was. Of course her luck would somehow translate into her battling. "Use Return Pidgeot." Gary retaliated as fast as he could.

"Ampharos dive out of the way and hit Pidgeot with a Power Gem!" Ampharos dove forward and did a corkscrew in the air while rocks manifested around her. As she lunged under Pidgeot the rocks fired up and hit the under belly of Pidgeot.

Gary doesn't let this slow him down though. "Brave Bird!" Pidgeot quickly corrected himself and aimed right for Ampharos while she regained her footed after the Power Gem.

Brave Bird comes piling in towards Ampharos and Tia knew she didn't have time to dodge, even with the lower speed. "Grab him Ampharos!" Tia thought fast. She had little choice but the take the hit, taking a lot damage in the process, but Ampharos powered through. "Now quickly use Thunderbolt!" Ampharos charged up a point blank Thunderbolt at Pidgeot.

Gary did not like the looks of that damage. His Pidgeot only had about one or two good hits left in him and the paralysis was not a good sign. "U-turn Pidgeot." Gary decided to switch out his Pokemon and get a quick strike in on Ampharos in the process. Once Pidgeot retreated back to his ball Gary called out his next Pokemon. "Go Machamp. Let's come out swinging with a Bullet Punch." Machamp immediately switches in and unleashes a flurry of blows on Ampharos. The damage was really starting to rack up on Tia's side now.

"Clever Gary, but don't expect us to go down that easily. Ampharos use Hidden Power!" Ampharos gained some distance and fired a beam of energy from her mouth. The attack does a decent amount, but Machamp was clearly not weak to it.

Gary examined it, noting a blue and white hue to it. "That was Hidden Power Ice wasn't it?" He paused, "Oh crap that would have totaled my Pidgeot if he stayed out."

Tia winked, "You can imagine my disappointment." That was her plan initially. Surprising Gary with an Ice typed Hidden Power.

Gary's impressed, she was actually matching very well. Still, Gary felt he had a slight edge over Tia. "Don't think that'll be enough though. Payback!" Machamp charged in and threw back all the damage Ampharos dealt in spades.

Tia gritted her teeth and called back Ampharos. "Good job Ampharos. You did a number on Pidgeot and softened up Machamp. Now, let's see how you handle my Typhlosion." This wasn't Tia's first run in with a Machamp, but she not did intend on needing Tyranitar it take it down. "Okay Typhlosion, we have a tough opponent, but we can handle this. Flame Charge!" Tia and Typhlosion wasted no time going right into the fray. Machamp is poised to strike, but Typhlosion had the speed advantage in this situation.

"Machamp grab Typhlosion!" Gary knows this could end horribly for them, but he had a plan. Typhlosion barrels into Machamp, but he kept his footing and picked up Tia's Pokémon. Taking in a lot of damage in the process, but standing strong. "Aim him away from you." Machamp does some readjusting so Typhlosion was facing away from him.

Tia smirked, "Bad call Gary. Lava Plume!" Typhlosion roared, shaking the entire stadium. Lava erupted from Typhlosion's back in a heated blast that hit Machamp for massive damage, while also freeing Typhlosion. Tia stuck out her hand and gave a thumbs down. "End it. Blast Burn." While Machamp struggled to recover Typhlosion ran back towards Tia and readied his most devastating attack. Typhlosion opened his mouth as fire built up in a white, hot blaze before exploding from his mouth. Machamp couldn't act nearly quick enough to avoid the onslaught of fiery damage.

Gary stood in amazement. "You were able to teach Typhlosion Blast Burn?" He almost couldn't believe what he saw.

"Yeah, you should see Venusaur's Frenzy Plant. That one even did a number of Morty's Darkrai." Tia was proud to admit.

Gary was in utter disbelief. In such a little amount of time Tia had managed to completely close the gap in strength between them, maybe even surpass him. Still, he couldn't lose. Not like this. "Pidgeot while Typhlosion is recovering, give him a Brave Bird." Gary got some quick damage in, but at the cost of Pidgeot. The recoil was enough to do him in. Still every bit helped. "I feel bad just using him for cheap damage like that."

Tia shook her head, "I think that was a great use of Pidgeot. I had a feeling Typhlosion would lure Pidgeot back out, but that wasn't the play I was expecting. So who's your last and strongest?" Tia goaded Gary.

Gary looked confidently at his last Pokémon. "Fine, don't say I didn't warn you. Go Keldeo!" Gary's final Pokemon was a shock to Tia and Red. Neither would have expected Gary to have a legendary Pokemon. Though neither Tia nor Red realized this, Keldeo was in his Resolute Form.

Tia smirked, "Oh boy, now the real battle can begin." She wasn't afraid of going against a legendary Pokemon. Like she hasn't been in the past. She wanted a challenge and she knew Keldeo would be it. "Typhlosion, give that Keldeo a Flamethrower." Tia knows this won't do much in the grand scheme of things, but she figured there was no point in not attacking. She's expecting one well-placed Water Type move to do her Typhlosion in anyway.

Gary nodded, "Calm Mind Keldeo." He allowed Keldeo to take the hit and raise his stats in the process. "Alright, I think now is the time to end this. Hydro Pump."

Keldeo unleashed a massive burst of water right towards Typhlosion. "Don't think that we'll go down so easily. Typhlosion use Flame Charge and dodge the Hydro Pump." Typhlosion ignites himself and runs forward towards the attack. Typhlosion got on his hind legs and made a running leap over the attack. He vaulted clear over the attack and dove into Keldeo with the attack. The damage is once more minimal, but he did something nonetheless. Unfortunately, that meant he would no longer be in a very good position to dodge the next oncoming attack.

Gary nodded approvingly, "That was a good move Tia, but you know how this ends. Hydro Pump." A point blank shot took out Typhlosion leaving them both with one Pokemon remaining.

Tia had a risky play in mind, but she was going to go for it. She called out one of her truly best Pokemon to join the fray. "Go Tyranitar." Both Gary and Red are dumbfounded by this choice. As he entered a sandstorm kicked up.

"Really? Tyranitar?" Gary's not sure if she might want to rethink that choice, but Tia looked confident nonetheless. "Well okay. Keldeo use Secret Sword."

Keldeo's horn glows and extends out way past his body. With a mighty swing of his head the sword comes right for Tyranitar. "Avalanche!" Tyranitar jumped back and conjured a huge pile of snow and ice to fall, intercept the attack. Keldeo's Secret Sword getting stopped just shy of Tyranitar. "I don't know what else Keldeo has up his sleeves, so let's give them and Earthquake and keep our distance."

The entire battlefield shook and did some damage to Keldeo, he certainly felt that a lot more than the least few attacks. "I don't think we'll gain anything from using Taunt. So use Hydro Pump." Keldeo steps up and uses another powerful Hydro Pump.

The attack would no doubt do some serious damage, but Tia had a plan. "Block it with another Avalanche." Tia had no other choice that to play this defensively. She couldn't get to close or she'd be in perfect striking range of his Secret Sword. The snow and ice fall once more creating a barrier against the Hydro Pump.

Unfortunately, Gary saw this little plan coming. "Perfect, now lance forward with Secret Sword!" Keldeo's horn grows once more and charged head first into the battlefield. His horn punctures right through the Avalanche and jabbed Tyranitar.

Tia's Pokemon is easily knocked back and the damage was severe. "We can't afford another hit like that. Tyranitar strike through the Avalanche with Hyper Beam." The visibility was still low since the ice and snow created a wall between them. This is quickly rectified however. The massive burst of energy from Hyper Beam easily evaporates both leaving a veil of mist amidst the Sandstorm. Keldeo is taken off guard by the sudden attack and gets knocked back in the process.

Keldeo recovers, but the mist and Sandstorm hindered his vision. Gary's amazed, "You knew Tyranitar would be wide open after Hyper Beam since he had to recharge. So you used a combination of the mist and sand to prevent us from seeing Tyranitar." He couldn't help clap after that one. "Too made we still know the general area Tyranitar was standing. Hydro Pump and spray down the whole area." Keldeo sends another huge burst of water to hopefully wash out Tyranitar.

Tia crossed her fingers and bought her time until the recharge was finished. Visibility was low on both sides obviously, but Tia had a plan. She closed her eyes and envisioned her Tyranitar. She had a bond with him so sensing his Ki was almost second nature to her. She then thought of Keldeo. The immense power he and Gary had. The time was up. Keldeo wasn't able to hit Tyranitar. She would have been a goner otherwise. "Tyranitar run to either side then stop when I say." Tyranitar didn't fully understand, but he trusted Tia. Tyranitar ran to the left. Tia watched and quickly shouted. "Stop!" Tyranitar stopped at Tia's command. Gary wasn't just standing around however. He carefully listened to Tyranitar's movement. A giant Pokemon like Tyranitar wasn't exactly quiet.

Gary called out his next attack. "Secret Sword!"

Tia grinned, "Finish this with Hyper Beam!" Secret Sword was a wide sweeping attack so Gary could work with a margin of error, but Hyper Beam was a concentrated strike so that require far more accuracy. What Gary didn't know was that Tia had perfect sight on both their Pokemon. She'd positioned Tyranitar in a direct line towards Keldeo.

While Keldeo swung blindly Tyranitar was able to take the perfect shot and strike Keldeo down. The beam of energy engulfed Gary's Pokemon and blasted away the mists. The sandstorm died down and all that remained were Tyranitar and a fainted Keldeo. "We lost?" Gary couldn't believe his eyes. Tia not only become a trainer, but grown so much she actually beat him in a battle. A battle with his legendary Pokemon nonetheless. Gary was practically speechless.

"We did it!" Tia ran over to Tyranitar and embraced him. Red was quite impressed too. He was honestly expecting her to lose. He figured using Tyranitar was just the kind of risk Tia would take, but he figured it would backfire on her. Which it almost did, but Tia once more proves she's capable of thinking on a higher level than most. Especially in tense situation.

Gary walked over to her and extended out his hand. "I never thought I'd see the day that you would beat me in a Pokemon battle." Gay was quite amazed still.

Tia shook his hand and grinned, "Honestly, neither did I. Especially when you brought out Keldeo." Tia remembers why she originally became a trainer. She wanted to get strong enough to someday go out and find Gary and battle him. She never would have imagined in just one year's time she would grow strong enough to beat him.

He steps back and reluctantly holds open his arms, wondering if Tia will take the offer. Tia giggled and gave Gary a friendly hug. "Have I mentioned I was an idiot for letting you go?" He wasn't afraid to call out his own short comings. He's content with knowing his chance has come and gone by now.

"I'm not mad about it. We'll both find other people. This was a great match. Maybe we can have a proper six-on-six sometime in the future?" Tia stepped back and smiled warmly.

"Yeah, but know I'll only be stronger when that time comes." Gary gives her a thumbs up.

Tia winked and does the same, "Good, wouldn't want to wipe the floor with you too bad next time." She teased him and started heading out.

"Smell ya later, you two." Gary waved goodbye.

Red and Tia both look back and stuck their tongues out before sharing a laugh. "Later Gary. Next time, we'll have a battle." Red offered.

"Great, now I have to worry about both of you." Gary joked and watched them walk out. "I guess that's what Tom saw in her." He can definitely see the potential Tia had lying under the surface now. He also knew that was just a fraction of what she's really capable of. He's going to have to trainer extra hard from now on.

Tia and Red enjoy a leisurely stroll back to Pallet Town as the sun dipped below the horizon. "So are you satisfied with that battle?" Red asked.

"I couldn't have asked for more. Gary's really strong. It makes me excited to see the strong trainers that will be awaiting me in Hoenn." With that thought in mind Tia looked to the skies and her future with a wide grin. One more week until her excited adventure begins anew in the Hoenn Region.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a comment with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. So there was a bit of crossing over here. Obviously the Cinnabar Island plot has not occurred yet in Pokemon Sagas: Shadow Destiny. We won't be getting to that until next year. Still this is a big climatic finale to Johto. Next comes Hoenn and i can't be more excited for this one.<p> 


	79. Chapter 77: Hoenn Bound

Hoenn Chronicles

Chapter 77: Hoenn Bound

In ancient times the world was wrought with desolate wastes and roaring seas. Two titans of nature fighting for supremacy.

Dawn of a new day, the start of a new adventure. The light shone in on a small house nestled in a small town. From the second floor a trainer was about to begin their journey through Hoenn. A young man was already up and ready to set out. He wore a black and red shirt with black shorts and his distinguished white hat. He put the strap of his backpack across his chest and a small camera bag holstered to his belt.

He looked out his window one last time and smiled down on the small town. He was going to miss home, but he's ready for a whole new adventure. As he looked out a Wingull flew up to his window sill. He pulled out a letter and handed to Wingull who flew off just as quickly as it arrived. With that taken care of and everything gathered up he ran down stairs. "I'm about to head out mom." He called to his mother.

"You're not going anywhere yet Brendan." His mother walked out to sat her goodbyes to her son. "Your father's at the lab. We also got you these for your journey." She handed him a brand new pair of running shoes. They perfectly matched his outfit already. His mother next grabbed a camera off the table and took a few steps back. "Smile." He put on his shoes and smiled for the camera. The first of many new memories. She handed him the camera which Brendan put in his side bag. "I'm so happy to see you're finally going out on your own to explore like your friends did."

Brendan gave his mother a hug. "Thanks mom, I know dad's been saying it for years, but now I feel ready." Brendan was now more than ever confident in this choice he's about to make.

Brendan stepped out of his house in Littleroot and towards his father's lab. The two were practically next door to one another. Brendan has helped his father, Professor Birch, in field research for many years. Mostly using lender Pokemon in the off case he needed to battle. Other than that he mostly travelled around when his dad made the rare visits to other cities like Lilycove. Still, Brendan's biggest passion was photography. He has hundreds of pictures of Pokemon saved on his computer and printed in albums.

Brendan made his way into his dad's lab where Prof. Birch was hard at work researching Pokemon habitats. He spotted Brendan coming in. "Brendan, perfect timing. I've got the Pokemon all ready for you. You know the whole speech by now. So who're ya gonna pick?" His dad grinned eagerly.

Brendan had thought long and hard about this one. Measuring their strengths and weaknesses. "I've been thinking about it for weeks now." Way more time than he honestly felt he should have, but Brendan has reached a conclusion. "I'll take Treecko." He grabbed Treecko's Pokeball and called him out.

Treecko stood in the lab and looked around. He then looked up at Brendan. Almost a bit surprised. Brendan bent down and smiled, then patted Treecko on the head. Treecko quickly realized what was going on and jumped into Brendan's arms. Treecko was very friendly towards Brendan. He could tell that Brendan was inexperienced like he was. So Treecko was restless to train with Brendan and become stronger.

"You're a pretty friendly guy. So I guess we're all ready now." Treecko climbed up Brendan's arm and perched on his shoulder. "All we need now is the Pokedex." Brendan held out his hand expecting the device from his father.

Prof. Birch froze. "Oh no! I knew I forgot something." He ran over to his desk and grabbed a Pokedex. He set it on a dock near his computer.

The light flickered on and a progress bar came up on the screen. Brendan and his dad walked over and examined the screen impatiently. The speakers spoke up, "Pokedex now configuring updates. Zero Percent." Roughly five seconds later. "One Percent." More time passes. "Two percent. Pokedex System with restart multiple times during the download process. Please do not disconnect or shut off Pokedex while installing latest update."

Brendan sunk his head. "Maybe I should practice with Treecko a bit and come back for it later." Anything was better than sitting around waiting for it to update for who knows how long.

"Good idea." Prof. Birch shook his head at his slow machine. "Well, either way I'm real proud of you, son. You're going to love it. I learned so much from being a trainer and met so many new people. Still thinking you're going to become a Pokemon professor like your old man?" Birch remembers all the time Brendan would say this growing up.

"Yeah, you know I'm doing this to learn and get stronger. I don't want to take on the Pokemon league though." Brendan's stance on this was pretty firm. "I might try my hand at it once though. You know, it could be fun." He wasn't too sure about that, but Brendan figured he needed to at least try before dismissing it.

"Keeping an open mind, that's a good attitude to have. If you eager to practice, then Route 103 above Oldale Town is a good place to start." Prof. Birch suggested.

"Good idea. Probably some Zigzagoon or Poochyena to battle up that way." Brendan scratched under Treecko's chin and headed out. "We'll be back soon dad." Both Brendan and Treecko wave goodbye.

"Have fun, I'll be out doing some more field research on Route 101." Birch loved his research even if he tended to find ways of irritating the wild Pokemon in their habitats. Though, this was never intentional.

Elsewhere in the world, a familiar face was getting ready for her own adventure in Hoenn. Tia finally got to flaunt her new look for Hoenn, on top of her new hair she got plenty of new clothes too. She wore a sleeveless, light blue tank top with half a red Pokeball symbol in the center. The top went about half way down her torso which showed off her midriff. She also had a pair of brown cargo shorts with deep pockets for supplies, her Pokeballs, and her Pokedex. As well as a larger, yellow fanny pack around her waist for large items like a change of clothes, collapsible tent, and food. The ensemble was completed when she put on a pair of fingerless gloves that matched her top with the full red Pokeball symbol. As well as her studded Pokeball earrings she'd bought in Goldenrod City.

Tia gave herself a once over in the mirror. "Fashionable and functional." She was very satisfied with her new look. She gathered up the last of her things and ran down stairs. Of course her family was all there to wish her goodbye. They all stepped outside where Gary and Prof. Oak also waited.

"Good luck in Hoenn dear." Her mother gave her a hug.

"I look forward to hearing how you're doing." Next her father said his peace.

"You not allowed to come back unless you're the champion." Gary joked with her and gave her friendly hug in return.

"Champion and you have to beat the old man too." He pointed back at their dad and snickered.

"We're all proud of you, Tia. When you're ready I'll have Abra teleport you to Prof. Birch's lab in Littleroot." Oak shook her hand with a bright smile.

"I'm ready Professor." Tia said confidently.

Oak takes one last look at Tia, Red, and Gary before teleporting Tia off. "You three have come so far. Pallet town's best and brightest."

"I don't know about brightest." Gary nudged Red.

"Don't kill each other while I'm gone." Tia chuckled. "Let's go." She takes one last look back at everyone. "I love you all, next time you see me I'll be the Hoenn League champion." Tia boldly declared before teleporting away.

Seconds later, Tia was now in the lab of Prof. Birch, but something was off. Prof. Birch was absent from his lab. All she heard was the sounds of a computer telling her that a random percentage. "Um… Hello?" She looked around. Tia could not see high or low of the professor which made her confused and a bit irritated. She'd contacted him the day prior with her exact time of arrive, even considering the difference in time, but he was nowhere to be found. "How rude." In a huff she exited the lab, hoping he may be just outside.

She walked out and was instantly swept up in the considerable difference in temperature. Hoenn was a lot warmer, the sun shone brightly overhead, and the sea gave a nice cross breeze that kept warm, but not hot. This was the kind of weather Tia loved, she could smell the sea air which made her giddy. She knew she was going to love it here.

Tia begins searching the town. Not many people are out at the moment so she headed towards the edge of town. She notices a bunch of tall grass leading into the route when she heard a cry for help. "Ah! Someone save me!" A grown man's voice echoed through the air giving Tia reason to rush. She spotted a man in a lab coat getting chanced by a small, brown Pokemon. He noticed Tia right away. "You there, please I need your help!" He said as he ran circles around a tree trying to get away from the small Pokemon. "Grab one of those Pokeballs and stop this feral Pokemon!" The Pokemon was unknown to Tia, but it looked fairly tame to her. Matter of fact, Tia wondered if maybe the man had been the one to upset it and drew its ire.

She walked over to a brief case with three Pokeballs in it. Tia opened up all three to see her options. She reads a note out loud, "These three Pokemon are Treecko the Wood Gecko Pokemon. Grass type. Torchic the Chick Pokemon. Fire Type. Also, Mudkip the Mud Fish Pokemon. Water Type" Tia examined her options thoroughly. "They're all so cute. It's hard to decide. Well, I haven't had a Water Type starter yet. Plus, you look like a really cute Pokemon." She rubbed her hand against Mudkip's head fin. Mudkip responded happily and jumped up and down.

"I hate to rush you, but help!" The man cried out as he gasped for air.

"Fine. I like Mudkip." She grabbed the other two Pokeballs, called back the Pokemon, and grabbed Mudkip's Pokeball. "Alright, let's see what we can do Mudkip." She grabbed her Pokedex from her pocket and examined Mudkip and the wild Pokemon. "Okay, so you know Tackle and Growl. Not exactly a stellar move pool, but you'll grow. Torrent for an ability like most Water Type starters. That Pokemon is a Zigzagoon. Pickup for an ability, and that's about all we've got. So it's the Rattata of Hoenn. This shouldn't be too bad." She saw that Zigzagoon's pretty distracted so she had the perfect chance to get a sneak attack in. Tia had a slightly different plan though. "Okay Mudkip use Growl." Mudkip nodded to Tia and ran into battle. Tia took note that he was a speedy Mudkip. Mudkip ran up behind Zigzagoon and growled at it.

The caught Zigzagoon's attention. He was not very happy with Mudkip interfering and went for a Tackle. Tia knew this was coming so she had Mudkip dodge. Mudkip hopped back onto his tail fin and avoid the attack. Next Tia had him retaliate with a Tackle of his own. Mudkip took aim and lunged at Zigzagoon. Stunning it, but it was far from out. Tia called for another Growl while Zigzagoon charged at Mudkip once more. The two Growl attacks severely lowered Zigzagoon's damage output. Tia continued with another Tackle. She was no longer afraid of Mudkip taking a substantial amount of damage from Zigzagoon. The battle finally comes to a close when Mudkip gave one final lunge and collided with Zigzagoon's head.

Tia gave Mudkip a thumbs up as he ran over to Tia. She picked him up and held him in her arms. "You are just the cutest thing." She coddled him.

The man gasped for air. "Thank you, you saved my life."

"No offense sir, but I think the Zigzagoon was just mad you were running around too close to its babies." Tia pointed as two other Zigzagoon, whom ran over to the ailing one and licked its wounds. "Plus, I really doubt you were in any real danger." Tia correctly pointed out.

The man cleared his throat, "Right, I knew that." Tia didn't believe that for a second. "Well my name is Prof. Birch. What's your name young lady?" Birch got the greetings out of the way.

"Tia, I'm the trainer you talked to yesterday. I was confused when you weren't in your office, but I get why now." This did go a long way to answering that question. "Well, I've got my starter Pokemon so that takes care of that."

Prof. Birch nodded, "Indeed it does. I have a son who's also starting his journey today as well. If it's not too much trouble would you mind heading up to Route 103. Just North of Oldale Town. He's a new trainer obviously and from what Samuel has told me, you're quite the veteran at this point." Sixteen badges to her name and having beaten the Elite Four was not something to easily dismiss.

Still, Tia was modest about it, "I don't know about veteran, but I know my way around the battlefield. I'll check on your son."

"Thank you. I still have his Pokedex so he'll need to come back for that. Is yours all up to date?" He asked Tia. She handed it to him and let him examine it. "Alright, it's still on the National Dex so I'll fix that for you." He pauses for a moment. "Wow, that's a lot of legendary Pokemon sightings!"

Tia rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I've had a few run ins with some powerful trainers."

"I see." He switched over to the Hoenn Dex. "Two owned?" Mudkip made sense, but the second one nearly caused him to drop her Pokedex. "Why does it have Rayquaza listed as owned?" He shouted in utter shock.

Tia quickly grabbed her Dex. "It's a very long story. I'm good friends with Tom. I had to _borrow_ Rayquaza temporarily. Let's leave it at that." Tia didn't really have time to explain all that in great detail. "Anyway, I'll go find your son. What does he look like?" This was an important detail to nail down.

"Right, Brendan is a young man, about your age actually. He's wearing a red and black shirt with black shorts. Though his most distinguished factor is his white hat." Birch gave a brief description of his son.

"Thank you." Tia with those details in mind she's sure that he couldn't be that hard to find. Tia makes her way through Route 101 with a sense of wonderment about her. This was such a lovely place. The trees and grass were all so lush and green. She spots more Zigzagoon running through the grass as she walked along. "This route is so beautiful." Tia spotted a couple other Pokemon. One clearly a Bug Type. "Wurmple huh? So many new Pokemon." She examined her Pokedex when another Pokemon comes out of the brush.

A small gray and black Pokemon. It growled on its four legs at Mudkip. "Let's see, a Poochyena. Looks like he's a gutsy one too. I think we could use some more experience." Tia hopped right into a battle with Mudkip. "Alright, let's see what you can do against a Poochyena, Mudkip." Tia sized up her opponent first and foremost. "A young one like him probably has Tackle if I'm to guess." Tia figured this was a safe bet. Poochyena looked ready to attack so Tia was quick to act. "Alright Mudkip, let's give it a Tackle." Mudkip jumped into battle quite excitedly. He was ready show what he's made of in front of Tia. Mudkip ran head first at Poochyena. The two collide, Poochyena getting knocked back, but he quick returned the attack with a Tackle of his own. Slamming into Mudkip's side, but he was not nearly as injured by this. "One more should do it. Tackle!" Mudkip hits Poochyena right in a sweet spot dealing a bit more damage. "Critical hit, now that's what I like to see." Mudkip was beaming with pride as he looked back at Tia. Tia nodded approvingly at Mudkip who jumped for joy. "Alright, let's continue on."

As Tia and Mudkip moved on she slowly started noticing a lot of unique vegetation and berries. One such was a small, blue berry that had fallen from a tree. Mudkip ran up to it and sniffed the berry before happily scarfing it down. It seemed to help too, like it had healing properties. Tia exampled another one more closely, "Well it's safe for consumption. What is this berry called?" Kanto and Johto were not really known for their berries. So these were all very rare and exotic to Tia of course. She grabbed a couple and stuffed them in her bag for later.

A little way down the road the two found their way to Oldale Town. It was quite quaint compared to a lot of the cities and town Tia was used to in Kanto or Johto, but she didn't mind. It had a pleasant, down home vibe to it. Tia quickly spot the Pokemon Center and the PokeMart by their easily distinguished Red and Blue roofs respectively. Tia looked at Mudkip who wasn't too injured thanks to the berry he ate, but she figured stopping by the PokeMart to grab a guidebook of Hoenn would be a good idea.

Tia headed for the PokeMart when she spots a man lifting a large box off a truck. He began to struggle grasping it and had a hard time keeping his footing. He almost dropped it, but was able to recover enough to place it down gently. He wiped beads of sweat from his head. "Wow that could have ended badly." He wasn't sure he'd be able to lift that one on his own.

"Need a hand?" Tia politely offered as she walked up.

"Sure, but this is pretty-" Tia lifts the package with ease, "heavy." Despite feeling slightly emasculated that a teenage girl is stronger than he was. The man was grateful "You're pretty strong." He commented.

Tia chuckled, "This is nothing." She walked the package into the PokeMart and set it on the counter. She remembered all her training on Cianwood Island. Compared to her Adept training this was nothing. "So what are in the box?"

The man opened up the box and revealed the contents. "A shipment of Potions. They pack them in a few dozen at a time. Here, as a thank you." He handed Tia a Potion free of charge.

Tia smiled, "Thanks, it's nothing really." Though Mudkip seemed pretty marveled by Tia's feats of strength. Tia looked around the store and picked up a guide book to Hoenn. "I actually came in here for one of these. I'm new to the region."

"I was going to say you've got pretty fair skin. Where are you from?" Tia's pale complexion was fairly noticeable compared to people in Hoenn who were generally more tan or darker skinned. Though this isn't always the case of course.

"Pallet Town in Kanto. I came here to Hoenn after I beat the entire Indigo League." This impressed the store owner and Mudkip. Mudkip's eyes practically sparkled hearing that.

"Oh so you got all sixteen badges. You have a run at the champion? You know, I actually knew your champion way back when." He said with a bit of pride for having known Tom as a kid.

"Yeah, Tom and I traveled together for a while. He's no joke when he gets serious. I actually lost bad, but that's why I'm continuing to get better." Mudkip looked positively star struck. Mudkip didn't really get it, but they said a lot of important sounding things.

"You don't say. You know, the kids from Littleroot have come a long way. I heard the previous two champions in Kanto came from Pallet. So I'm guessing you knew them too?" The store owner struck up more conversation as he rung Tia out.

"If you mean my younger brother and ex-boyfriend, then yes." She chuckled.

The owner laughed, "Wow, you've certainly got connects. Well, if you need anything else I'm here. Don't hesitate to stop back in."

"Thanks, I may stop by for more supplies if I need anything." Tia did stock up pretty heavily on Potions and Pokeballs before leaving for Hoenn though. The guide book was her only real necessity.

She headed out and looked North to Route 103. "That's where the professor said his son was." She looked at the guide book and found an entire section on berries. "Oh turns out that's an Oran Berry. It's used by Pokemon for quick healing. Pokemon can also hold them and eat the when they grow weak from battle." She looked at Mudkip and then back at the description. "Where do they put it? What if I had a Voltorb? It has no arms where would it hold it?" The question perplexed Tia, but she handed an Oran Berry to Mudkip to hold. "Oh that's how you do it."

They duo headed up into Route 103 where they saw more of the same. Poochyena running around and Zigzagoon playing in the grass. Another new Pokemon caught Tia's attention however. She whipped out her Dex and examined it. "A Wingull huh?" A Flying and Water Type well known for being used in delivering mail. As well as its evolution, Pelipper. They didn't look to interested in battling at the time though. Tia noticed the route very quickly reached a dead end where rocks and dense brush block the way. There she spots a trainer with a very distinguished white hat.

He spoke to himself. "_There sure are a lot of Pokemon around_." Brendan snapped a few photos of Zigzagoon grazing and playing. "_Treecko's been handling himself pretty well too_." He looked at his starter who was playfully climbing some trees. Brendan took a picture of that as well. He turned around and noticed Tia. "Oh hi, didn't see you there." He got his first look at Tia and had a feeling she wasn't just any other trainer. He then froze. "Crap, our eyes met. We have to battle now."

Tia shook her head and waved her arms in disagreement. "No, no. I'm actually looking for someone. You're Brendan Birch, right?"

"You're looking for me?" He didn't know why a total stranger was looking for him.

"I'm Tia, your dad sent me to get you. Something about your Pokedex." Tia explained what she was doing.

"Oh so you're the trainer who is also starting a journey today." He's heard her name a few times now. Good to finally be able to put a face to the name.

"I guess you heard about me from your dad." She chuckled and picked up Mudkip. "I chose Mudkip. I see you picked Treecko." She looked to the trees where he played.

"Yeah, Tom also told me about you." He remembered Tom mentioning her in passing at the party.

"You two were friends growing up I'm sure." Tia knowing Tom's upbringing is not too surprised that they had one friend in common already.

"Yeah. Hey, we have time so do you maybe want to have a quick battle? Treecko and I need the experience." Brendan offered, hoping she'll accept.

Tia looked excited by the offer. "Sure, I'd love to battle." She had Mudkip step up and get ready to battle. "I know your new so want us to go slow so you get the hang of it?" Tia politely offered.

"I appreciate it, but I'm not too sure I want to be patronized." He wasn't offended, but he had a little more pride and dignity than to handed a soft ball battle.

"Fine, we won't hold anything back." Which meant Tia was probably going to win and in a way Brendan was fine with this. He just wanted to see where he lied skill wise. "Go in for a Tackle Mudkip." Mudkip leapt forward at Treecko who waited for Brendan's instructions.

Brendan wanted to play it safe. "Dodge Treecko." Treecko goes to jump out of the way, but Mudkip was slightly quicker to act. Treecko dodged, but not before getting grazed in the process. "Pound Treecko." Treecko turned and went to strike Mudkip with his tail.

Tia saw her opening. "Jump back." Mudkip quickly hopped back, narrowly avoiding Treecko's tail as Tia intended. "Now Tackle." Treecko was recovering from the last failed attack, giving Mudkip the chance to strike. Mudkip dove into Treecko and slammed his head into Treecko's stomach.

Brendan wasn't sure what to do at this point so he called out another attack. "Pound again." Treecko swung wildly at Mudkip in hopes of hitting.

Tia shook her head, "Brendan, you're losing your head. Mudkip duck." Mudkip dropped causing the attack to fly over his head. "You have to attack when it's the best time. Not just attack wildly. Tackle!" Tia held out her arm as she called out the attack. Mudkip still prone on the ground quickly sprung up and collided with Treecko again. This time dealing enough to finish him off.

As this occurred Brendan saw something. The way Tia commanded Mudkip's last attack. She had so much confidence and power behind it he felt. He quickly pulled out his camera and took a picture of Tia posing with her arm out stretched. Tia hesitated slightly "What are you doing?" She blushed.

Brendan pulled up the picture. "Oh sorry, I just liked the pose you made." He ran over to Treecko to check on him. Brendan's Pokemon was beaten, but he slowly pulled himself up. Brendan patted Treecko on the head. "You did a good job regardless buddy." He gave Treecko an Oran Berry to heal him.

Treecko cheered and ate the berry with passion. Mudkip skipped over and ran around Treecko excitingly. Once Treecko regained his strength he ran around with Mudkip through the grass. Treecko ran up a tree and plucked another berry and dropped it down. Mudkip jumped and caught it in his mouth. He ran over to Tia and waved his tail fin happily as he set it down in from of her.

Tia picked up the odd berry. It was pink with a unique shape. "What kind of berry is this?" She began to reach for her guide book when Brendan explained.

"That's a Pecha Berry. It cures poisoned Pokemon." Being a Hoenn native he knew pretty much all berries by heart.

"Awesome, good job Mudkip." She pat Mudkip on the head and waved to Treecko. "Thanks Treecko. You two are both so cute." Mudkip rubbed his head affectionately against Tia's leg. Brendan quickly got a picture of this too. "You sure love your photograph." Tia's head popped up in Brendan's viewfinder.

He switched over to the gallery, "It's a hobby of mine. I've always loved taking photos of pretty much everything and anyone I saw." He showed Tia the picture of her. "You don't mind do you?"

"No, I was just a little surprised at first." Tia chuckled. "I'm just glad it turned out alright. I'm not usually very photogenic." Red and Tia were both pretty notorious for taking terrible pictures. Blinking, sneezing, messy hair, or awkward smiles. The universe found some way to ruin almost every picture they had taken of them.

"Really, you have a great body." This made Tia's cheek turn a deep red than her hair. Brendan immediately realized what he said. "No, sorry that's not what I meant. I mean it was, but I wasn't hitting on you. I'm talking from a professional standpoint." Brendan tried to salvage his point. He's photographed people in the past, a lot of them being women. So he was used to saying things like this.

Tia calmed down, "Okay, that is an important detail." The two start heading back to Oldale Town.

"Yeah sorry, I meant like from a modeling standpoint. You're obviously very physically fit and confident in your looks. That shows." Brendan explained that confidence is attractive. "I'm use to taking pictures of all sorts of things and people. So I just kind of say these things out of habit."

"I get it, and thanks too I guess." It may have been misinterpreted, but a compliment is a compliment. "We should probably stop by the Pokemon Center and heal up our Pokemon." Tia could see the town and the red roof of the center in the distance.

"Good call. Treecko's looking a little beat right now." Treecko ran up to Brendan and climbed back up on his shoulder. "You're really good. I take it this isn't the first league challenge."

Tia explained, "Yeah, I traveled through Kanto and Johto earning their sixteen badges. I've only been a trainer for a little over a year though so I think I've still got a lot to learn and more room to grow." They walked into the Pokemon Center and handed their starters to Nurse Joy.

"Awesome, I'm just a total newbie. I know a lot about Pokemon from Hoenn thanks to my dad. I love reading his research and taking pictures of Pokemon in the wild." Brendan walked over to one of their computers and pulled up some pictures. "I saved some of these online." They were mostly pictures of Zigzagoon, Poochyena, and the occasional Wingull. The others were either landscapes or portraits of random people. He then made a quick call. Tia stepped out of frame. "Hey Tom, I was calling to tell you I'm in Oldale about to start travelling to Petalburg City."

Tom smiled from ear to ear with his signature toothy grin. "That's great. I look forward to hearing more. By the way, did you run into anyone else starting they adventure too? Like a girl name Tia?" Tom asked.

Brendan quickly glanced at Tia and fought back a grin. "I don't know dude, what does she look like?"

Tom did his best to explain what Tia looked like. "She's really fit, has spiky, red hair, huge rack-" Tom didn't get much further than that.

Tia pushed Brendan's head out of the way and shouted at the computer screen, "Tom, I will kill you!" She spat fire.

Tom laughed, "Looks like you two have met. Good thing I'm on this side of the screen."

"I know where you live _and_ work." She said menacingly.

Brendan pushed her back. "Anyway, yes we've obviously met."

"Cool are you two going to travel together?" Tom jumped right to his point.

"I mean I wasn't intending on it, but we are both going to the same place, but I figured we'd split up eventually." Brendan didn't have any plan on it.

Tia on the other hand wasn't opposed to the idea. "I mean yeah, but would you mind if we did?" She asked somewhat nervously.

Brendan thought about it. "I mean, you're more experienced than I am. I don't want to slow you down." He didn't want to be a burden on her.

Tia shook her head. "That's no problem. I'm plenty patient." Tom laughed. "Shut up. Are you going to be challenging the gyms too?"

Brendan shook his head. "Not likely, I know you will be. That's fine."

"So it's settled. I now pronounce you travelling companions." Tom chimed in.

Tia and Brendan rolled their eyes. "I guess that settles that then." Brendan had no complaints about this idea. Tia certainly didn't either. The two shake on it.

"Awesome, well I have to get back to work. Good luck to you both." Tom hung up and let them both continue.

"We should get back to the lab. Your Dex is ready by now I'm sure." Tia went to the counter and grabbed their Pokeballs. She wasted no time calling back out Mudkip. "Someone's looking a lot better." She patted Mudkip on the head and smiled.

"Yeah, let's go." The two stepped outside and headed back for Littleroot. "So what are some of the strongest Pokemon you've trained?" Brendan wanted to know what kind of trainer Tia was.

Tia thought about this for a bit. "Well Venusaur is very strong. So are Typhlosion, Gyarados, and Tyranitar. Heracross and Ampharos have always been strong too. I'd say my Johto team on average is probably stronger than my Kanto team, just because I was more experienced. Still, none of my Pokemon I think are weak."

Brendan does a quick double take. "Wait, did you say Tyranitar?" He's all too familiar with the pseudo-legendary Pokemon. Hoenn had a couple itself.

Tia nodded, "Yeah, we trained hard together."

"I bet. You'd have to really train hard to be able to have a Pokemon like Tyranitar listen to you." Brendan didn't know the first thing about really training a Pokemon, but all his wisdom and expertise on Pokemon should help get him started at the very least.

"Yeah, we trained a lot ever since he was a little Larvitar." Tia still fondly remembered her past adventures. She always will.

They make their way back into Prof. Birch's lab, inside is an interesting sight. Documents and papers scattered everywhere. A bunch of Pokemon running around causing mischief. "Dad what's going on?" Brendan and Tia ran into the heat of it.

"Brendan, Tia. The Pokemon got loose." A Torchic ran wildly around the floor. A Zigzagoon had found his way on the top shelf of his bookcase and refused to come down. A Poochyena snarls and barked at all the lab assistants.

"Well, this is a mess." Tia figured she should help where she can. She ran over and scooped up Torchic. Quickly she recalled it to the Pokeball and ran over to Zigzagoon. The poor thing was terrified. Tia looked up at it. "Come on down, don't worry. Nothing to be scared off." Zigzagoon is reluctant at first, but slowly it looked down at Tia. She held her arms open, ready to catch it. It eventually leapt into her arms. Tia quickly called it back too. Lastly was the trouble making Poochyena. It snarled and growled at Tia. She simply walked up to it. It bared its fangs at Tia, but she simply stood there. Letting her Ki radiate off of her. Showing Poochyena who the real alpha was.

In her month off Tia had learned a new trick with her Adept abilities. She knew how to channel her Ki in battle and while working out, but she thought of another way to release it. She thinks of all the times she's envisioned Ki. It's like wave of heat coming off one's body. The more she focused on it the more it felt like an actual pressure was being released. She remembered Tom could use his Empath ability to project his emotions. So Tia took the same principle and applied it to her Ki. Instead of using it she channeled it in her body so it felt denser. As if she was giving off a physical pressure around herself. She called it Ki Pressure.

The air around Poochyena felt heavier as he stood in front of Tia. It recognized her strength and reluctantly submitted. Though, Poochyena wasn't the only one who felt the effects of Tia's Ki Pressure.

Brendan had to ask, "What was that?"

Tia picked up the Poochyena and cocked her head. "What was what?" She didn't think he felt it.

"It felt like the air got heavier." Brendan clarified.

"Oh you felt that? It's a trick I can do with my Adept abilities." She doesn't lend much other explanation than that.

"Oh Brendan, your Pokedex is finally ready." Birch grabbed the Dex from the dock by his computer. "Sorry it took so long."

Brendan took the his Dex and looked it over. "Thanks Dad. You update Tia's yet?"

Tia pulled her own out. "Not a problem. Mine's all up to date."

Brendan looked at her older model of Dex. "Cool, that's one of Prof. Oak's original Pokedex. Mine's a version three. Mind if I check it out?" Tia happy handed it over. He looked under the Hoenn Dex numbers. "Own Two?"

"Right, Tom let me borrow one of his one time." Tia said causally hoping it won't scroll too far.

"Rayquaza!" He did.

"Check out my National Dex." She figured she might as well get all the surprises out of the way now.

Brendan stares in awe, "Mewtwo, Mew, Entei, Suicune, Ho-oh, Celebi, Regice, Rayquaza, Regigigas, Darkrai, Keldeo, and Meloetta. That's a dozen legendary Pokemon you've personally seen!"

"Two I've beaten." Tia stroked her ego a tad. "Yeah, I've ran into a lot of really strong trainers. They're all stronger than me, but I've managed to get the slight edge in those couple battles I've had. If they fought all out with their best teams, I'm sure I would have lost." Tia is still well aware of her place in the grand scheme of things.

"What kind of adventures have you had?" Brendan had to ask. "We can talk about this later. Thanks Dad, we're heading out now." He said one last goodbye to his father before departing with Tia.

Before leaving town Brendan passed by his house and saw his mom standing at the door. He walked up to her. "You're finally leaving. Take good care of yourself." She gave Brendan a hug. She noticed Tia, "Oh, who's your friend?"

"This is Tia. She's a friend of Tom's." Brendan introduced her.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am. Brendan and I will be travelling together." Tia said respectfully.

"That's wonderful. I of course worry about my little Brendan." It was a mom's job to worry. Tia recalled her own mom feeling the same way. "So take good care of him."

"Hey, mom. I'm not a little kid. I'm seventeen." He felt the need to clarify.

Tia chuckled, "Oh so we're the same age."

"Yeah, I turned seventeen a few months ago." Brendan further clarified.

"Oh so I'm older." She knew this got on Tom's nerves. Brendan didn't seem to care either way. "Well we should get going. Pokemon and gyms await." Tia excited headed for the exit back to Route 101.

"See ya mom. I'll keep in touch." Brendan waved goodbye to his mom and his old life. He's no longer just the son of a professor. He's a trainer. A trainer destined for greatness. Just like his new travelling companion. The two were ready to take the world by storm.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well it's finally time, after over a year we're finally in Hoenn, now how long with this arc last? Who knows! Hoenn will definitely be the largest arc to date and I couldn't be more excited to explore my favorite region. Also, I hope everyone liked the bit of lore i threw in at the beginning, that'll be a reoccurring element in each chapter from here on out. A lot of exciting changes are coming to the Pokemon Sagas world. So I hope you all look forward to it.<p> 


	80. Chapter 78: First Steps

Chapter 78: First Steps

A great conflict shaped the world. Lava formed the land while torrents carved the seas.

The Tia and Brendan were now finally ready to depart. Both were anxious to finally explore Hoenn outside the comforts of Littleroot and Oldale. They made it as far as the very edge of Brendan's hometown before his father came running after them.

"Brendan, Tia wait!" He ran frantically to the two of them. He came to a halt as the two waited for him. Prof. Birch heaved and gasped as he tried catching his breath. "I… forgot to… give you… your Pokeballs. I need to work out." He bended over, one hand being supported by his knee. He held out his other hand with five Pokeballs for each of them.

"Thanks dad, I almost forgot." In all the excitement Brendan too had forgotten about the Pokeballs.

Tia chuckled, "Thank you, professor. I have plenty of my own, but I won't turn down free Pokeballs." She happily accepted the Pokeballs and slipped them into the left pocket of her shorts.

"Okay, now that's it for sure. Have fun and stay safe you two." Prof. Birch walked back to his lab at a much more leisurely pace as he caught his breath.

"Your dad's a bit forgetful isn't he?" Tia snickered and continued on.

"I can't blame him; he's wanted me to be a trainer for so long." Brendan knew his dad couldn't be happily that Brendan was finally leaving for his own journey. Still, Brendan felt a twinge of anxiety as he looks back to him home slowly shrinking on the horizon.

Tia tapped Brendan on the shoulder. "Always look forward; don't look back." Tia recalled telling another trainer this very same advice. These were words Tia's always lived by. A lesson taught to her by her father. "You'll be back here again. So until that day comes make sure you get stronger." Tia told herself the very same thing every time she left her home of Pallet Town.

"Thanks Tia, was it this hard for you when you started?" He still doesn't know her all that well, but now they'll have plenty of time to get acquainted.

Tia nodded and gave a light giggle, "I put on a brave face, but yeah. I was so clueless in the beginning. I thought my Bulbasaur could use Solar Beam." She recalled her earlier days as a trainer, even if they were just over a year ago.

Brendan laughed too, "Really? That's too funny. You didn't know much about Pokemon back then did you?" Being the son of a professor did make Brendan privy to a lot of information so he was already very well versed in Pokemon, or at least the Pokemon around his home and in his dad's reports. He also kept up on Pokemon tournaments. So he knows a thing or two already.

"Not at all. I wanted to be a chef growing up. I only got into Pokemon training, because in the beginning I wanted to get strong enough to find someone." Tia fully confessed her original intentions. She didn't even admit that at the time, but Gary's defeat at the time of Tom really helped pave the way to her own Pokemon journey.

"A chef. You can cook?" Brendan was pleasantly surprised.

Tia nodded, "You know it. I'll have to cook you something up when we get to Petalburg." Once more in Oldale Town, Tia looked at the PokeMart and asked Brendan, "Hey Brendan. Do you need any supplies before we head onto Route 102?" She figured he might need some.

Brendan nodded, "I could use an extra Potion or two." They head to the PokeMart which was calm and quiet like when Tia had visited before.

The store owner noticed the two walk in and greets them excitedly. "Brendan, good to see you. Good to see you again too Tia."

"Hey." Brendan looked back at Tia, "You two know each other?" He asked, quite a bit surprised.

"I helped him out before I ran into you." Tia responded modestly.

"She was a big help. I heard you're finally going out on a journey of your own Brendan. Finally striking it out like Tom and May." The store keeper smiled wide.

"Yeah, Tia and I are traveling together. I just came for some last minute supplies." Brendan explained.

"I could probably use a Parlyz Heal or two. Never be too careful." Tia wanted to make sure she was plenty stocked up on her supplies, as did Brendan.

"Wonderful, I've got everything a trainer needs starting out. Pokeballs too if you need them." He kindly offered.

"Great, stock up while you can Brendan." Tia patted him on the back while getting her own supplies.

"My dad got me a lot of things before I left too. So I'm not too hard up at the moment." He got some Potions just in case anyway.

"Good luck to both of you." The owner wished them the best of luck.

"Thanks, next time you hear about me, I'll be the new Hoenn League Champion." Tia boldly declared.

The store owner gave a hearty laugh, "I look forward to that."

They stepped outside and Brendan addressed the obviously, "Hoenn League Champion? You aiming straight for the top?" He's impressed by Tia's determination.

Tia gave him a thumbs up. "You know it. I have to become champion of at one region if I want to be able to stand a chance against Tom. First Hoenn League Champion, then I can will compete for World Champion and stand on the world's stage at the Pokemon World Tournament." Tia was definitely laying all her cards out on the table now.

Brendan's a bit stunned, "Wow, all the way to the PWT? You're a lot more confident than I am. I just want to be a Professor like my dad." Brendan's ambitions were a lot more down to earth. Still a professor was just as revered as any champion.

"Go big or go home for me. Strength, willpower, and determination are my keys to victory. As well as a good strategy of course." Their conversations carried into Route 102. Tia was so wrapped up in her speech she almost didn't realize it. Tia looked around. "Wow, sorry if I've been chatting your ear off." Tia got a bit ahead of herself by just talking about herself. "So what about you? Why'd you choose to wait so long before becoming a trainer?" Tia figured she'd gone on enough about herself already.

"I just didn't have any real interest in being a trainer. I prefer studying Pokemon. That and photograph. I've travelled with my dad so I have seen a lot of the Hoenn region. So it's not like I've been stuck in Littleroot my whole life." Brendan laughed to himself. Still, while his friends went off on their Pokemon journeys Brendan was still content with staying home. He couldn't help worry that he may be way behind the curve now.

"That's good." Tia looked over at small pond and spotted some familiar Pokemon hopping out of the water. "Hey those are Marill. Goldeen too." Tia wasn't expecting to see many Pokemon from Kanto and Johto here.

"Yeah, Marill and Goldeen are said to have migrated from Kanto and Johto long go. The populations aren't as much as other Pokemon, but we see them a lot in parts of the region. Magikarp are pretty abundant everywhere too." Much like his father, Brendan too has done quite a lot of research on the habitats of wild Pokemon.

"I would have never guessed. I mean it makes sense that Water Types migrate all over the world. Gotta go where the food is." Tia joked. Tia then spotted a Pokemon she'd never seen before. A small, blue Pokemon with a lily pad on its head. She reads the Dex entry. "Lotad? Hoenn has a lot of really cute Pokemon." Tia couldn't help fawn over them when she saw them. Something else gets Tia's attention too. A lot of younger trainers were wandering around the tall grass and having battles with one another. "Hey trainers. We can get some battle experience in now." Tia ran towards the kids with Mudkip skipping eagerly behind.

"Pokemon trainers?" Brendan wasn't sure how prepared he and Treecko were for real battles. Seeing as their first battle ended in a loss.

It was too late to protest however; Tia had already gotten the attention of two, young trainers. One of which she directed over to Brendan. "Hey Brendan, little Calvin over there is going to be your opponent." Tia had an opponent of her own. A Bug Catcher named Rick.

"Little?" Calvin whined. Calvin was a young kid with a blue, backwards baseball cap and a yellow, Sableye T-shirt. "That lady said we should battle." He pointed back at Tia.

Brendan mentally cursed Tia for throwing him head first into a battle, but Brendan kept his cool. "Alright, let's battle then. Come on up Treecko." Treecko stepped forward and assumed a tough pose to show he wasn't going to back down from the fight.

"Alright, go Zigzagoon." Calvin excitedly called out his Pokemon. Zigzagoon popped out of the Pokeball looking peaceful and docile. "Growl." Zigzagoon growled, lowering Treecko's attack.

"Okay Treecko use Pound." Treecko ran forward and pounded the small Pokemon, the damage was reduced because of the Growl, but still did a go amount of damage.

"Tackle, Zigzagoon." Both their strategies were pretty rudimentary.

Brendan stopped to think of how he wanted to respond. Dodge or simply take the hit to leave Zigzagoon open for another pound. Brendan reached his decision. "Dodge out of the way." Unfortunately, Brendan drug his feet a little too long and was forced to go with the third option. Get hit and miss the chance to strike back in time. He was over analyzing the battle.

In that second he heard Tia call out, "Okay Mudkip, run forward and jump over that Wurmple." Her opponent's Wurmple fired a sticky String Shot at Mudkip, but Tia read the play perfectly, predicting that Rick was going to try and slow down her Mudkip. Mudkip ran head first towards the strings and took a running leap over top Wurmple and landed behind it. "Tackle!" Before Wurmple could turn around Mudkip collided with its back and knocked it out. Tia cheered and picked up Mudkip triumphantly.

Brendan quickly got back to his battle, even Calvin was briefly distracted by Tia's battle. "Treecko use Pound." Treecko repeated his actions from before.

"Zigzagoon Tackle." Calvin called out.

The two are about to meet in one collision, but Brendan had an idea. Mudkip could jump, but Treecko was a real jumper. "Jump over Zigzagoon." Before Zigzagoon could strike Treecko leapt into the air, avoiding the damage. "Now use Pound." Treecko landed and whipped his tail around hitting Zigzagoon in a blind spot. This was a critical hit no less, dealing that extra bit of needed damage to knock out Calvin's Zigzagoon.

"No way. We lost?" Calvin called back Zigzagoon and sunk his head. "I guess we still need a lot of practice."

Brendan walked over to Calvin and offered him a handshake. "That was a fun battle. Trust me, we both still have a lot to learn." Brendan remarked with a smile.

"Thanks, here's your prize money." Calvin handed over some money for winning the battle. "If we battle again I'll be a lot stronger." He promised.

"Same here." Brendan took the prize money and waved goodbye to the kid. He felt refreshed after that battle. Brendan never really battled before, Tia was one of the first times he'd ever really battled in reason memory. Calvin helped Brendan get his bearings and get a feel for battling.

Brendan rejoined Tia. "I saw your battle. Good start, just keep at it." She wasn't going to analyze his battle or go on about it, but Tia definitely noticed some issues, or at least things she would have done differently.

"I saw a little of yours too, Mudkip's pretty fast." Brendan had Mudkip pegged as a Hasty natured Pokemon given how, well hasty he was.

"Yeah, he's a speedy little guy." Tia bent down and patted Mudkip on the head. Mudkip stood up and balanced on his tail fin so he could puff out his chest. "Treecko's pretty nimble too." Tia commented.

"Yeah, but Treecko's definitely not that fast. He packs a punch though." Brendan figured Treecko was of the Brave nature.

"That's fine, you both just need to learn to work around that. My strategies are usually made up on the fly so faster Pokemon work best for me." Tia's battle style was definitely something she'd become known for.

"Yeah, I saw you're pretty quick on your feet when you battle. Carefully watching and coming up with a plan." Brendan could immediately tell that Tia's very unique in that regard.

"That came with a lot of practice though." Tia confessed. "I used to be extremely impatient."

"I would have never guessed." For once someone said this not sarcastically. "I think it might be a good idea to fight some more trainers." Brendan's gotten a taste for battle and he has enjoyed it so far.

"Definitely, I want to test out Mudkip's new move." Tia showed Brendan her Dex for reference. "He learned Mud Slap after our battle, but I didn't try it out yet."

Brendan quickly Pulled out his Dex. "Nice, maybe Treecko did too." Sure enough, Treecko had learned Absorb in the process of beating Calvin's Zigzagoon.

They scouted on ahead and found two more trainers standing around. Tia quickly approached them. "Hey are you two trainers?" She saw a young boy and a girl a little bit older than he was.

The girl excitedly replied, "Totally! Wanna battle?" She held up a Pokeball.

"Yeah, my name's Tia and this is Brendan." She pointed back to Brendan as he walked up.

The girl giggled, "That's so funny, my name's Tiana." She too pointed to her companion. "That's Allen. So what do ya say. Pair off, girls and boys?" Tiana seemed liked the more seasoned trainer of the two so Tia was more than happy to challenge her.

"Sounds good to me." Tia accepted Tiana's challenged and went to an open clearing to battle.

"Looks like it you and me, Allen." Treecko hopped off of Brendan's shoulder.

"Alright, let's do this Poochyena." Allen called out his Pokemon and looked excited to begin. "Let's start with a Howl!" Poochyena howled and raised its Attack strength.

"Alright, Treecko let's test out Absorb." Treecko held out his hand as it began glowing. Energy released and hit Poochyena. The energy formed small, green orbs that propelled themselves back to Treecko. Healing prior damage. "Awesome. Now go in from the Pound!"

"Tackle Poochyena." Allen had his Poochyena attack as well. The two met in the middle and traded blows. Treecko's fist pounded Poochyena as Poochyena's head collided with Treecko's fist. The two flew back from the force of the two attacks meeting.

"Absorb again!" Brendan was quicker to respond. Once Treecko recovered he immediately went for another Absorb. His hands glowed as Treecko once more drew energy from Poochyena. This was finally enough damage to cause it to faint.

"Aw man, looks like it's up to you, Taillow." Allen called back Poochyena and next sent a Taillow into battle. The small, Normal Flying Type took the skies immediately leaving Treecko unable to get in good attacking range.

Thankfully, Absorb remedied the distance issue. "Treecko use Absorb again." Brendan couldn't think of any other plays than waiting for Taillow to attack. Which he wasn't going to risk.

Allen anticipated this though, "I knew it, Taillow dodge it and Peck!" Taillow maneuvered to the right, dodging the oncoming attack and went for a Peck. Taillow's beak started glowing as it closed in on Treecko.

Brendan knew this would be one of his few chances to strike. "Treecko Pound it on contact." Treecko poised himself to do just that. Taillow flew down and dug into Treecko's stomach, but he matched this with a powerful Pound to Taillow's back.

Taillow staggered a bit, but was still standing. "Again Taillow." Allen decided to keep the battle close quarters. Probably accepting that he couldn't maintain distance if he wanted to win without dragging the battle on for way longer than it needed to.

"Pound again." Brendan instructed his Treecko. The same events unfolded. Treecko bashed Taillow, while Taillow dug into Treecko. Only this time Taillow finally fell. Not before doing a serious amount of damage to Treecko. The battle was done and Brendan had won his second battle. This one was definitely a much closer call too.

"Return Taillow. That was a good battle." Allen had a lot of fun. He walked over and handed Brendan his winnings.

"Totally, your Taillow and Poochyena were both really good, dude." Brendan gave credit where it was due. New trainer or not, Allen knew what he was doing. Brendan really just edged it out in the end there.

They two bath heard clapping. "Like oh my gosh, that was such an exciting end there!" Tiana cheered.

Tia nodded, "Good job both of you." Tia walked over to Treecko and patted him on the head. "You too Treecko. You're one tough customer." She flattered Treecko who puffed out his chest as to show off like Mudkip did. Mudkip skipped over and playfully poked Treecko's chest and laughed to itself.

"Well that was fun, but we're going to head back to the Pokemon Center before it gets too late." Tiana wanted to heal her Pokemon. Allen did too. They all looked to the sky and saw twilight was fast approaching.

The two departed. "Should we head to the center too?" Brendan asked.

Tia shook her head, "Nah, we can camp out under the stars." Tia was all too excited by this prospect.

"Camping out?" Brendan didn't quite share Tia's enthusiasm. "You sure?"

"Yeah, you did bring camping supplies right?" She pulled a large sleeping bag from her small backpack.

"What Hammer Space did you pull that out of?" Brendan exclaimed. Tia's backpack didn't quite seem proportionally large enough to hold that sleeping bag. "Also, yes. I have a sleeping bag."

"Cool, I've got a tent too just in case." Tia found a nice clearing under some trees they could rest at.

They unwrapped their bags and let their Pokemon run off and play. "So how did your battle go? I was too caught up in mine and you finished before us."

Tia shrugged as she gathered broken branches to start a small fire. "It wasn't much to look at. Her Zigzagoon didn't give me any trouble. You seemed to struggle with that Taillow though."

"Yeah, there wasn't any good way to hit it really." Brendan confessed.

Tia looked at Brendan with a little bit of confusion. "Really?" She left it at that though.

Brendan asked, "Why? Would you have done something different?"

Tia didn't want to lord over him like a know-it-all, but the answer was all around them. "Look at Treecko." She hoped he'd get it.

Brendan saw Treecko scurrying up a tree and grabbing Oran Berries for himself and Mudkip to snack on. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"Think about it." Tia wanted him to reach this conclusion all on his own.

"I am, he's just in the tree- oh. Wow, it's so obvious now that I said it. Treecko should have climbed in a tree and-" Brendan started.

"Attack Taillow in midair. Now you get it." Tia was glad Brendan finally got it. "Don't get me wrong your method obviously worked too. That's just what I would have done."

"No, I should have paid more attention to the battlefield and used it to my advantage. Pokemon battling's a lot more than just Pokemon and Type advantage." Brendan was quickly learning this lesson.

"You're still learning. I didn't know anything about Type advantage when I started out." Tia pulled out some packed food and started eating. "You're no slouch though Brendan. You'll catch on quick." Tia give him credit.

Brendan smiled at the compliment. "You're really smart too Tia." Brendan started eating. He produced his camera as well.

"I wouldn't say I'm as smart as a professor's son though." Tia chuckled. Once she finished eating she sat up and started gazing at the stars. The skies over Route 102 were clear and the stars were vast. The skies over Pallet Town were the same. Big cities often hid the stars with their bright lights and tall buildings. Tia reached out as if she was trying to touch them. Mudkip hopped into her lap. The stars shone in the reflection of Tia's crystal blue eyes, her short, red locks swept ever so slightly in the gentle evening breeze. Tia had never felt so at peace than she did in Hoenn.

Brendan looked over at Tia. Her pale skin shone slightly in the Moon's radiance. She looked up with an entranced gaze at the stars above. Her soft pink lips slightly pursed as she stared. Brendan quickly grabbed his camera and turned off the flash. The Moon's light provided the perfect atmosphere and lighting. He quickly snapped the picture before Tia could notice. Brendan took a quick glance. The picture was perfect. He didn't know what it was, but Tia looked absolutely captivating.

Tia was still entranced by the sight and failed to notice Brendan taking her picture. She finally spoke up. "Is Hoenn always like this Brendan?" She asked softly.

"Like what?" Brendan looked at her. Tia, still unmoved.

"So beautiful?" She smiled and finally started lying down

Brendan looked at his camera once more. "_Yeah, beautiful._" He told himself.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Also, please share this story with others. Well this chapter covered a lot of previously overlooked, minute details. I wanted to really make the Pokedex relevant, because it was so overlooked previously. As well as going into smaller details like Pokemon's Nature, actually showing trainer battles, and getting prize money. Giving the Pokemon more personality was another big aspect I wanted to make sure I nailed down too.<p> 


	81. Chapter 79: A Trainer is Born

Chapter 79: A Trainer is Born

The burning earth desperately tried to swallow the sea. While the vast oceans washed over the land. A cataclysmic terraforming that would shape the world.

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><p>The glimpse of sunlight broke through the dense trees over Route 102 greeting the morning gently. The quiet rustling of Pokemon waking up and scurrying around slowly woke Brendan from his own slumber.<p>

He opened his eyes and slowly rose with a yawn. Brendan rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and the world came into focus. He was genuinely surprised how well he slept. He was sure sleeping outside would be both difficult and unpleasant. Maybe this was that natural beauty Tia was mentioning? It was very calm and serene.

Speaking of Tia, Brendan looked over to see if she was still a sleep. She hadn't made a peep yet. What he saw was a bit peculiar. Tia looked to be still asleep, but she was sitting up with her legs crossed. Her head was lowered ever so slightly and her breathing was soft, but stable.

"Tia? Are you still asleep?" She doesn't respond. "Do you always sleep sitting up?" He hoped she'll hear him. He walked over and waved a hand in front of her face.

"I'm mediating Brendan. Please don't disturb me." She said calmly, but still with a stern tone in her voice.

"Oh, sorry." Brendan backed away slowly and headed for a small pond. He kneed down and splashed cold water on his face and took a drink to help wake himself up. "_She mediates?_" This still felt a bit odd to Brendan, but it was yet another thing he learned about his new travelling companion.

Brendan headed back a few minutes later and began backing up his stuff. About half way through Tia finally rose to her feet. "So. You mediate?" Brendan wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject.

Tia nodded, "Yeah it's very relaxing, helps clear the mind, and how I channel my Ki."

That reminded Brendan, "Your Ki? You said something about Ki Pressure yesterday. What is that?"

Tia happily explained, "Ki's the energy that flows through us. We all have it. We use it without even knowing it. The very same way our body breathes air we take in and release Ki."

"That's interesting. How did you learn about all this?" Brendan was impressed. He'd never heard of Ki, at least not in a manner than made it seem like a real concept or property.

"My master taught me all about it. I'm an Adept. My master was Chuck from Cianwood Island. Adepts, unlike other people, can control how their Ki is used to a certain extent. Strong trainers have a lot of Ki. It's used in battle to help your Pokemon and to keep going in extra exhausting battles. We all do it, whether we're aware of it or not." She gave Brendan a quick crash course on it.

"Really? So it's kind of like stamina? Also, exhausting battles? You're Pokemon are the only one's battling though?" That part confused Brendan the most.

Tia shook her head, "You have a lot to learn about battling if that's what you think. You and your Pokemon battle as one in battle. Being able to sync your strategies with their moves, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, and making on the fly decisions in battle can be very fatiguing." Tia knew this first hand thanks to all the times she has nearly fainted after a battle.

"Wow, I never thought of it like that. So how does Ki work?" Brendan was quickly realizing that studying and reading about Pokemon training was nothing compared to real life experience.

"Ki helps trainers to keep going in a battle. Ki exists in all living creatures. Humans and Pokemon alike. Some have more than others. Adepts can channel their Ki to aid Pokemon in battle. Whether it be that extra resilience in battle to take another hit or helping them deal an extra powerful final attack. It's a subtle shift in the tide of battle. It can't drastically alter an outcome. My Ki Pressure is actually something I came up with myself. Are you familiar with Empaths?" Tia breaks from her explanation to ask Brendan.

"Not really. Aren't they like psychics, but can read emotions?" He was never around Tom once his latent empathy awoke.

"Basically, they can read emotions, but Tom can project his emotions." Tia didn't know if Brendan knew about Tom's empathic abilities, but she continues on. "I took that principle and applied to my Adept abilities. So taking my Ki and releasing out it around me. While making others more aware of it. Like it was getting denser. That's why it felt like it was weighing you down. You know that feeling you get when just know someone is behind you?" Tia asked and got a nod in return. "It's kind of like that. You're more aware of its presence so much so it almost feels like it's baring down on you." This was the best explanation Tia could give.

"Which is why it feels like the air got heavier. Not going to lie Tia, that's pretty freaky." Brendan is on one hand impressed, while a little frightened at the same time.

"Don't worry, I don't see when I'd have to use it. It's just a cool trick I came up with." Tia was still proud she'd harnessed her abilities to such an extent that she could find new ways to utilize it.

While the two talked they finished packing up their things and headed off for Petalburg City. Tia's talk did give Brendan plenty to think about. He pulled out his camera and snapped a few more picture of random Pokemon scurrying around the wild. "So you heading straight to the gym when we get into town?"

Tia shook her head, "No, I want to heal Mudkip at the Pokemon Center up first."

"Good idea, Tom's dad is the gym leader too. So he's probably really tough. I wouldn't recommend facing him without a fully healed team." Brendan didn't know much about Norman, but he knew that anyone who raised Tom had to be really strong.

"I bet," Tia smirked, "that makes me even more excited. He's a Normal Type gym leader too. I should have gotten more practice in against a Normal Type gym leader." Seeing as Tia had the perfect opportunity to do so.

"The only other Normal gym that I can think of is in Goldenrod, When Tom moved here some other guy took over the gym he said. You'd know better than I would." Brendan was a bit out of the loop.

Tia nodded, "It's run by my friend Anna now. She's crazy strong. Like, pretty much on Tom's level."

Brendan's eyes widened, he'd never heard anyone compare another trainer to be on par with Tom. "Well I'll be interested to see if she's going to enter the Pokemon World Tournament."

Tia hadn't even thought about that. Anna would be very stiff competition in the World Tournament. "When is the next PWT?"

Brendan rubbed his chin. "It's coming up real soon I think. We can check out the entrants list when we get to the Pokemon Center."

Before too long, Tia and Brendan were in Petalburg. The town was nice and quaint. For a city, Petalburg was not very large. Tia would say it wasn't much larger than Pallet Town. It even had the same small town, down home feeling she was used to. "Wow, this is a cozy little town." Tia admired the reflection of the sun off the lakebed in the upper part of town.

Brendan nodded, "Yeah the bigger cities are either coastal or on separate islands. Inland is mostly forest, deserts, and small towns." He guided Tia towards the Pokemon Center. Inside isn't too busy. They handed their Pokemon to Nurse Joy and took a seat at the nearest PC. "Alright, Pokemon World Tournament."

Nurse Joy calls out to Brendan when he said that. "Excuse me, if you want to watch coverage it's live right now." She turned on an overhead TV.

"Holy crap it starts today!" Tia planted a seat in front of the TV. It'd only just begun with their luck. "Cool, they're just now announcing all the competitors."

The announcers on screen fill in the audience at home to who is competing. "Well it's that time of year again folks. The Pokemon World Tournament is in full swing again. With Sixty-four trainers this is primed to be an exciting year yet again. Will returning champion Tom of Goldenrod City be able to keep his title or will last year's runner up, Morty of Ecruteak City finally be able to snatch it away?" The first announcer was very lively and excited. "Bob, how's about you tell everyone about some returning favorites?"

"Thanks John. Surprisingly only seven of last year's eight finalist have returned. We of course have Tom and Morty, as well as Sabrina of Saffron City. Who as you may recall lost the semi-final match last year in the sibling rivalry battle to end all sibling rivalry battles with Morty." This was a very big deal last year. "We also have Volkner of Sunyshore City, Erika of Celadon City, Cynthia the Sinnoh League champion, as well as Iris the Unova League champion, but Steven Stone the Hoenn League champion is absent. There is no word on why at this time. Back to you John."

"Thanks Bob. Steven Stones absence was a shock, but that means other returning favorites may get a chance to secure that eighth slot. Like fan favorites Misty of Cerulean City."

"_Misty didn't tell me, she was competing._" Tia commented.

"As well as the diva herself, Elesa of Nimbasa City." John announced with a large image of the gym leader supermodel flashing up in the background.

"Elesa competing!" Brendan seemed a bit too spirited about this. Catching Tia's attention. "What? She's a model. I'm a photographer. I'll shut up now."

John went down a few other names. "Though, what everyone is really wondering about are the new entries. We have a handful of new trainers competing this year. The first of which is Mary of Celadon City. Mary is a gym trainer from the Celadon City gym. She's made waves in the amateur tournament circuit these past couple years. Now she's stepping up to the big leagues. Our next new entry is the new Goldenrod City gym leader, Anna. Anna is a relative unknown. Having only ever competed in the Sinnoh League many years ago. She comes from a long line of trainers though. Including her Grandfather Pryce of Mahogany Town. A veteran to the PWT. As well as her sister, Candice of the Snowpoint City Gym."

"Awesome, Anna's competing!" Tia sat on the edge of her seat.

Bob speaks up, "Funny to see Anna is a Normal Type gym leader when she comes from a family of Ice Type leaders."

"This is true, but don't let her meek expression fool you, Tom, our very own World Champion personally recommended her for the position. We should be expecting a great show out of her. The next two have a bit of a storied past. These two have both acquired similar accolades. Both former league champions, both competed in the same league, and both grew up in Pallet Town. That's right, we have Red and Gary Oak of Pallet Town." John announced with zeal.

Tia cheered, "Woo! Go Pallet Town!"

Brendan was a bit taken off guard by Tia's spirited cheering. "You think we should get going now? Day one's qualifying matches. I don't think you want to sit through all thirty-two of those."

Tia nodded, "Right, all I really care about are the finals." The PWT was broken up into eight qualifying blocks A through H, all with eight combatants. Whoever wins all their matches in their block proceeds to finals. Where the eight block winners are randomly shuffled into one final eight trainer bracket.

With that out of the way Tia and Brendan next headed for the Petalburg City gym. The gym itself was designed in a manner similar to a dojo. This excited Tia all the more. She stepped inside with Brendan.

The main entry was a plan room with wooden flooring at the entry leading into a raised Tatami matted surface. In front of them was a wall with two doors, both reading something different. Between the doors was a large painting with calligraphy brushed in bold, black paint.

In the middle of the room stood a man with short, black hair. None other than Norman himself. He noticed Tia and Brendan immediately. "Tia and Brendan? This is a surprise. I knew to expect you two to stop by, but what a coincidence you showed up at the same time."

Tia shook her head, "It's no coincidence. Brendan and I are traveling together."

"Yeah, she insisted. I knew she'd be lost without me." Brendan joked and gave a chuckle. Tia simply rolled her eyes. "No, we thought it'd be for the best since I'm still new and we're pretty much going to the same places." Brendan explained what was really happening.

"Well that sounds exciting. Reminds of the days I travelled with your dad. We got into a lot of mischief together." Norman laughed with the same toothy grin Tia's all too familiar with.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Tia's always known her father to be very young at heart and a bit of a prankster when he was around. "Anyway, I'm here to challenge the gym."

Norman's smile faded, "Oh Tia, I'm sorry, I guess you didn't know. I'm actually registered as Hoenn's fifth gym leader. Unlike Kanto and Johto, Hoenn's League has a stricter order." A bunch of lower leveled Normal Types wouldn't hardly be a challenge anyway.

Tia shrugged, "Rules are rules I guess. So where is the first gym at then?"

"That would be the next city over. Rustboro City. The gym is run by Roxanne." Norman happily informs them. "From there you'll want to head for Dewford Island."

Tia smiled, "Great, we should probably start heading that way now." Brendan nodded and turned towards the door.

As they turned, door opened and a boy a couple years younger than them walked in. "Um, hello Mr. Norman. I… I'm here, because you said you'd show me how to catch a Pokemon." The meek, green haired boy stood nervously at the door. "I mean, if that's alright." He was very reserved and soft spoken.

Norman nodded, "Yes, Wally. Don't worry, I was expecting you. I have a Pokemon for you to use so you can catch one of your own." Norman walked past Tia and Brendan and handed Wally the ball, as well as a handful of Pokeballs. "Actually, Brendan, you're still new to this. Maybe you and Wally could learn together. I'm sure you already have a good idea of how catching Pokemon works. If not, Tia can help out I'm sure. If that's alright with you two."

Wally stared nervously at the two. "I wouldn't want to be a bother." Wally looked rather frail as well. Very pale and thin.

Tia shook her head, "Not a problem Wally. Right Brendan?"

"Yeah, we have time to spare, I've never caught any Pokemon either so we can learn together." Brendan thought this would be a good learning experience, but he could tell Wally wasn't anywhere near as experienced with Pokemon.

Tia took the lead out of the gym. "Route 102 should be a good place to start. Are you starting out as a trainer too Wally?"

Wally nervously replied, "No, I just wanted a Pokemon to take with me when I move to Verdanturf Town. I won't know anyone there so I wanted a friend to take with me." Wally wasn't not very confident or talkative, so making friend was hard for him.

Tia smiled warmly, "That's nice, so we better find you the perfect partner." They headed back to Route 102 and found a small patch of tall grass right outside of town. "Here should be good. Now what kind of Pokemon would you like?"

Wally shifted nervously, "I honestly don't know. I guess a nice Pokemon."

Tia looked around at their choices. "So probably not a Poochyena. A Zigzagoon?"

Wally looked over at one and quivered. "N-no I don't think so."

Wally's sheepish display was starting to wear on Brendan's nerves. "Let's just walk through the tall grass and see what we can find." Brendan walked head long into the grass. Wally being too nervous to even step one foot in the grass.

Tia reassured him, "Don't worry, they won't hurt you." She spoke in a surprisingly tender tone. This was enough to get Wally to at least walk into the grass. "There you go. Keep going."

Wally blushed and swallowed a lump in his throat. "Th-thanks Tia." He walked slowly, one foot after the other as he scanned through the grass. Breathing deeply as he does so. Trying his best not to lose his nerve. He noticed two Pokemon scurrying through the grass causing him to freeze.

Brendan spotted the Pokemon as well. "Hey Ralts. They're really rare to come across." Brendan was very much interested in catching one of those. Without hesitation Brendan called out Treecko.

Wally clutched the Pokeball Norman gave him tightly. Shaking like a leaf the whole time. Tia gently put her hands on his shoulders and spoke sweetly too him. "It's okay, just throw the Pokeball." She aided him by holding his wrist and helping him throw the ball. Wally exhausted and tossed the Pokeball. When it landed out came a Zigzagoon. "Okay, now when you're trying to catch a Pokemon you have to weaken it first." Tia explained the bare basics to Wally.

"Okay. Um… Zigzagoon use Headbutt?" Wally wasn't quite sure what to attack with. Zigzagoon looked confused.

Tia chuckled softly, remembering her own experiences. "Close, try Tackle."

"Okay, use Tackle. Please." Wally meekly asked. Zigzagoon responded and ran in, tackling the Ralts.

Tia took her chance to read Ralts's Pokedex entry. "Okay, so this is what Gardevior and Gallade evolve from. Now that you've weakened it, trying throwing a Pokeball at it." Norman had also provided Wally with a couple Pokeballs.

Wally nodded, drawing a Pokeball and carefully aiming his Pokeball at Ralts. Ralts being a smaller target and Wally being a weak and frail as he was caused him to miss.

Brendan watched and pinched the bridge of his nose. By this point Brendan had already caught his Ralts.

Tia patiently retrieved the Pokeball and stood behind Wally. "Let's try that again." She placed the ball in his right hand and aided him in aiming. She paused and she tried to line up the shot. "You know what, on second thought." She takes the ball out of his right hand and puts it in his left. "Better." She could control the throw much better now.

"Is throwing left handed easier?" Wally didn't understand why Tia switched.

"It is for lefties like me." She took Wally's wrist and helped him toss the ball. This time they were able to hit Ralts and it was secured in the ball. The Pokeball shook once, twice, three times and locked with a ping.

Wally paused for a moment before his face lit up. He ran over and called out his newly captured Ralts. "I did it! Thank you, Tia!" He held Ralts in his hands and gave it a sweet smile. Ralts happily jumped up and own in his hands with a similar excited expression.

Tia scratches under Ralts's chin. "He's a real cutie."

"Oh Ralts is a boy?" Wally had no idea how Tia could tell.

"Don't worry, you'll figure that out too." Tia assured him. "I'm sure you two will be great friends."

Wally nodded with a jovial smile. "Me too, well I should take him to the Pokemon Center and return Zigzagoon to Mr. Norman." Wally ran off with a spring in his step, but quickly doubled back.

"Forget something?" Tia asked.

"Um…" Wally looked nervous. Sporadically he threw his arms around Tia in a surprising hug. "Thank you again!" He quickly let go and ran off once more. The same excited spring in his step and bright red cheeks.

"Well that happened." Brendan chuckled. "Seriously though, I don't how you could put up with all the hand holding."

Tia smiled, "We all have to start somewhere. Anyway, he's already looking a lot better. I think all he needed was some encouragement. So let's see this Ralts of yours."

"Right," Brendan called out his own Pokemon. "She's a strong one I can tell."

"Thank you, I'll do my best." The two heard a cheerful little voice speaking to them.

"Uh… Tia… did you hear something?" Brendan briefly questioned his sanity.

"Good, I'm not the only one." Tia's very confused.

"It was me, sillies." The voice giggled. It was like it spoke into their minds directly. The look down as Ralts waved her little hand. "I'm the one talking to you."

Tia quickly pulled out her Pokedex. "Oh my god, Brendan, your Ralts has Telepathy for an ability. That's very rare."

"Aw I'm not _that _special." Ralts giggled with a modest reply.

"Well this is going to lead to some interesting conversations going forward. Welcome to the team Ralts. I'm Brendan. This is Tia."

Ralts waved, "Hi Brendan. Hi Tia. I want to grow really strong for you, Brendan."

"We'll grow strong together." Brendan resolved.

With that Brendan had another new Pokemon companion on his side. Ralts's hidden ability will definitely lead to some interesting outcomes in the future. Until then, the group head back to Petalburg City. Tia with her next goal in mind. Head to Rustboro City and claim her first Hoenn League gym badge.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well with the introduction to Wally the cast grows even more. The PWT was an interesting idea I had. I wanted to really go more into how competitions like the World Tournament worked so I'm glad i was able to slip this in. Though there will be a more hands on demonstration of the PWT in the future. Though that'll be after Sinnoh. So that's a long ways off.<p> 


	82. Chapter 80: The Team Grows

Chapter 80: The Team Grows

Molten lava erupted from the earth in an explosion of heat. Ice floes super chilled all in sight.

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><p>Tia and Brendan's journey continued West onto Route 104. A route right on the edge of the ocean. Tia ran onto the beach and gazed in awe at the endless sea of shimmering blue before her.<p>

"It's so beautiful!" Tia practically wanted to grab her swimsuit and dive right into the ocean.

Brendan walked up behind her and snapped a few photos of the ocean. Magikarp flopping in and out of the water. Wingull gliding in the skies above. Brendan was no stranger to this sight. So it was humorous to him to see Tia filled with so much wonderment over what many in Hoenn took for granted.

Tia noticed a few outdoor stalls for changing and pondered to herself. "This would be a perfect chance to test out my new swimsuit." She wasn't sure if this was a good time to go for a swim though.

Brendan shrugged, "If you want. Rustboro's not going anywhere."

Tia finally decided and ran to the stalls. Tia emerges a few minutes later in a bright red bikini sporting the same Pokeball symbol on it in white. She moves around in it and adjusts the straps as she does to get a better feel for it. She was worried it didn't leave much to the imagination, but she wanted a second opinion.

She playfully put a hand on her hip and other behind her head as she struck a pose. "What do you think?" Brendan took a quick snap shot of Tia in her swimsuit, causing her bravado to shatter instantly. "What are you doing!" She covered herself with her arms modestly.

Brendan reviewed the photo. "What do you mean? You struck a pose and asked me how you looked. Of course I'm going to take a picture." He zoomed in on the photo to get a more thorough examination.

"Quit ogling the picture already!" Tia was ready to throw the camera in the ocean out of sheer embarrassment.

Brendan shook his head, "Calm down, I'm reviewing the photo. It turned out better than I'd expected, but it will need some touching up in post. It needs a little less brightness." Brendan pointed to a few key points. "See? The sun's almost washing out your pale skin by contrast." He reached into his bag. "Here, take that pose again."

Tia stammered, "Why?"

Brendan had no idea why Tia was being so modest all of a sudden. "I've been using a wide angle lens. I have a lens in here that's better for portraits. I want to see if this looks better. So will you please strike that pose again."

Tia reluctant replies as Brendan pulled out a smaller lens. "That's a cute lens." She giggled at the much flatter lens.

"It's called a pancake lens. It's way better for this types of shots." He attached the lens and lined up the shot. Brendan frowned, "Turn a bit more to the left." Brendan made a small semi-circle in front of Tia until the sun was at his back. He adjusted the zoom and focused the shot. "Okay, stand still." The camera snaps and Tia immediately relaxed.

She let out a sigh, "Modeling's hard." She slumped her shoulders and leaned forward. She then walked over to Brendan who's reviewing the photo.

"Be thankful you're not in heels. Anyway, this one's perfect." Brendan showed Tia.

Tia looked at herself in the camera's screen. "Wow, that is really good. Say, Brendan. Be honest with me. Is this swimsuit a little too… risqué?" The more she looked at herself the more she was starting to feel this way.

Brendan reassured her, "I wouldn't call it that." Tia felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. "Though, it doesn't leave a whole lot to the imagination." Brendan zoomed in on Tia's top and the ample amount of cleavage on display. "You look great in it though." Brendan genuinely meant this.

Tia stated bluntly, "The camera's going in the ocean." Tia grabbed it and held it above her head, ready to hurl it into the sea.

"No! Tia, that costed me over one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars!" He jumped to grab it out of her hands.

"Oh my god!" Tia dropped it out of pure shock.

Brendan dove for his camera. "It's okay, daddy's here. The mean lady won't hurt you." He coddled his camera the same way Tom would coddle Cleffa.

"How can you justify paying that much for a camera?" Tia shouted.

"I saved up for years to afford this thing!" Thanks to saving up his allowance from his parents, doing various photoshoot jobs, and a very generous amount from his parents' own pockets Brendan was able to get it. "I was lucky. I got the last one, a lady in front of me practically broke down in tears. She was so happy to get her hands on one." Brendan went on to explain.

"Seriously? Don't ever expect me to get that excited about a camera." Tia scoffed at this idea.

"Well, I've held onto this camera for three years now. So it's definitely been worth it's money. Plus, all my other camera's haven't been professional grade like this." Brendan thought of a way to put this into terms Tia would understand. "It's like the difference between a good and bad kitchen knife. I don't know? Help me out here." Turns out the two didn't have much overlap in personal interests.

Tia thought of an example, "Okay so like the difference between a stamped, stainless steel kitchen knife and a forged, Damascus Steel chef's knife."

Now it was Brendan's turn to be lost. "Okay, that's more complex than I thought. You get my point. How much does that knife cost?"

Tia stammered, "I mean mine's pretty old and was a gift from my mom."

"Come on." Brendan forced it out of Tia.

"Around forty-seven thousand." Tia suddenly found herself without a leg to stand on.

"See what I mean? We pay for quality. I'm sure you've had your knife for years and you take very good care of it." Brendan took the high road and chose not to gloat.

Tia nodded, "Yeah, you're right." She couldn't deny it. She then realizes something. "Wait, we got way off track here. Where were we?"

"Does it matter? Just go for your swim. I'll be taking more photos on the beach." It seemed their little chat distracted Tia from her original point.

"Alright, have fun with that." Tia ran for the water and hoped right in. The cool chill of the sea water washed over her body and she couldn't be more excited. She kept her head above water for the most part as she swam.

Brendan watched as Tia swam out before focusing on the landscapes around him. He switched back over to his trusted wide angle lens and took some more landscape shots. Brendan saw more Wingull off in the distance. One finally decided to land and perch itself on the beach. Brendan gets a sneaky grin as he called out his Treecko. "Let's catch ourselves a Wingull." Treecko emerged and went straight towards the unsuspecting Wingull. "Absorb, Treecko." Wingull may be part Flying so it'll only be normally effective, but the damage will still be better than a simple Pound.

Treecko hit Wingull with the small burst of energy and took in the energy. Wingull was quick to retreat to the skies though. Once Wingull felt it was high enough it used a Water Gun. Treecko was splashed but overall he wasn't bothered by it.

"Okay Treecko, jump up and give it a Pound." Brendan made sure not to be too hard on it so he can still catch Wingull. Treecko ran forward and took a large leap into the air. He tactfully did a spin in the air and used the momentum to aid his Pound. Wingull was staggered by the hit and gave Brendan the opening he needed. "Alright, let's catch it!"

Brendan hurled the Pokeball in the air at Wingull. The ball made contact and ensnared Wingull. The ball fell from the sky and landed in the sand. The Pokeball shook once, twice, three times and locked with a ping.

Brendan grinned triumphantly as he grabbed his newest team member. He called Wingull from its ball. Wingull manifested and flew right onto Brendan's shoulder, using it as a perch. He looked over his new Pokemon and sprayed it with a Potion. "Okay, so you're a male Wingull. That's good to know. You've already met Treecko." Brendan took out another Pokeball and called out his Ralts.

Ralts stood in the sand and waved at Wingull. "Hi Wingull. I'm Ralts." Wingull cried back at Brendan's telepathic Pokemon. "Wingull says you're all very nice." Ralts tittered. Brendan's team now grew to three, which means he really needed to battle more to keep them all well trained. Brendan could hardly believe it. He'd only just started training and his team already consisted of three Pokemon. Though he wondered why Tia hadn't even caught one yet.

Tia swam completely carefree in the ocean around the beach. She didn't go out too far though, the water could be unpredictable and she didn't want to risk getting swept up in a riptide. She dove under the water and saw all the Pokemon swimming around her. Magikarp. Magikarp everywhere. She was reminded of her own Magikarp. Surprisingly not another Water Type anywhere in sight.

As she drew closer she saw something sinking into the water. A hook. She looked and saw wooden beams embedded in the sea floor jutting out to the surface. One of the Magikarp latched onto the hook and started fight it as the hook tugged on it. Tia didn't realize she was in a fishing spot so she quickly surfaced, as did the Magikarp.

On the surface a man in a white shirt and orange vest fought against the Magikarp on the other end of his hook. "_Come on, come to dad._" He murmured to himself as he reeled the Pokemon in. With one last pull the Magikarp flew out of the water and landed on the dock. Flopping around clumsily. "Gosh darn, another Magikarp." He unhooked it and tossed it back into the sea.

Unfortunately, as Magikarp went flying back into the water Tia happened to be surfacing. The first thing she sees when reemerging was not the sun or dock, but the sudden sight of a Magikarp rapidly growing. Slam. Magikarp collided with her face. It's hard, orange scales slammed against her nose, sending her head reeling back. "Ah!" Tia cried out.

The fisherman rose with a start. "Oh my gosh! Are you alright?" He wasn't expecting a girl to surface with the Water Types.

Tia rubbed her nose and cracked her neck. "Yeah, I guess this is what I get for swimming so close to the dock." Tia swam over and climbed the ladder onto the dock. "What are you fishing for? There was only Magikarp under there." Tia correctly pointed out.

The fisherman's eyes widen and his mouth hung open. "What? Seriously, just Magikarp? Darn, and I was _told _this was a premiere fishin' spot." The fisherman grumbled some more.

"Sounds like you got snowed buddy." Tia felt bad for the guy. "Maybe you'll get lucky and find a shiny Magikarp."

The fisherman's ears perked up. "Yeah, maybe I will. That'll show'em. Say, since you're here would you mind if we had a battle?"

Tia's eyes lit up. "You bet." She pulled out Mudkip's Pokeball and stood poised for battle.

The fisherman looked shocked for a second. "Wait, you're wearing a bikini. Where did you get that Pokeball from?"

Tia giggled and winked, "Woman's secret." She put a finger to her lips in a joking manner. "Alright, let's go Mudkip."

"Go Magikarp. By the way, I never caught your name, young miss. I'm Darian." Darian cordially introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Tia." She called out Mudkip, who was more than eager to battle. "I'm guessing that Magikarp was an earlier catch?" Tia gave him a smirk.

Darian laughed, "You bet, he was a fighter too, so I decided to hang onto him. I'll show you what I mean. Use Tackle Magikarp." Magikarp flailed about the dock and threw itself at Mudkip. The impact was solid, sending Mudkip skidding back.

"Not too bad, give it a real Tackle Mudkip." Mudkip sprung towards Magikarp with excitement. Bashing heads with the Water Type and sending Magikarp flopping back.

Darian smirked, "Thrilling battle I'm sure. I do hope this ain't too borin' for ya'll." Magikarp flopped forward into another Tackle. There was little else Magikarp could do as from Splash. A useless move.

Tia shook her head, "Not at all, this is fun. Mudkip, get under Magikarp and use Water Gun." Mudkip scurried under Magikarp at the height of his flop, about to come crashing down on Mudkip. He had faith in Tia's plan though. Mudkip fired up a Water Gun like a geyser towards Magikarp causing it to go flying over Mudkip and farther down the dock. "Now hurry and get ready to Tackle." Tia's instructions and timing was spot on. Mudkip ran down the dock and right as Magikarp was about hit the wooden dock, Mudkip was there with a powerful Tackle to the side. Magikarp flew further and flopped off the dock's steps onto the beach.

Darian and Tia both ran to see what was happening now. Magikarp was lying faint on the beach. While Mudkip bounced up and down excitedly. Tia ran over and picked up her starter gleefully. "We did it!" Tia cheered.

Darian nodded and called back Magikarp. "You sure did, here's your earnings." He handed Tia some prize money.

"Thanks, that was a fun battle. So you going to go find a better fishing spot now?" Tia chuckled and set Mudkip down.

"I reckon. I'll probably have better luck on Dewford Island. I can ferry myself over there a bit later once I'm all packed up." Darian was content with this plan. As a fisherman he was always eager to travel to the next big fishing spot.

"Cool, maybe I'll see you there sometime." Tia politely gave her goodbyes to Darian.

He laughed, "Maybe, until next time Tia." Darian walked back up onto the dock.

"Nice guy. Well that was exciting. Nothing like a good swim and Pokemon battle." Tia was very happy she chose to do this. "Wonder what Brendan's up to?"

Down the beach, Brendan was busy with his newest team member. He groomed Wingull with a brush, as well as Treecko and Ralts. Treecko and Wingull looked quite relaxed, while Ralts was positively elated. Brendan's quickly catching onto the fact that Ralts loved attention, but wasn't so vain as to ask for it. Although, she reveled in it when she got it. It was like a special treat, it diminished in importance if she just kept getting it.

At the moment they were sitting on a towel watching over Tia's things. Treecko sunbathing. Wingull on Brendan's lap with his wings folded and Ralts snugged up close to Brendan. It was a tranquil feeling.

Brendan looked down the beach and saw a woman walking through the sands in a deep green sundress and white sun hat. She held her red high heels in her hand as her bare feet and toes mingled with the sand. Brendan was half tempted to pull out his camera take a picked of the fine lady, but he figured that's probably come off as a bit rude or creepy. Still he had one hand on his camera. While he eyes were fixated on the woman.

She eventually turned and spotted Brendan. He quickly averted his eyes, but he was busted. She knew Brendan was staring at her. She tittered and pointed to Brendan's hand. Without a word she lifted her hands and mimicked the action of snapping a photo with her hands. Brendan picked up his camera and silently pointed at it with a bewildered expression. The lady once more giggled and nodded. She turned back to the ocean, letting her hands fall to her sides while the sea breeze swept through her bright, blond hair. Brendan lined up the shot and snapped the picture.

Brendan camera shuttered, this was all the indication the woman needed. She gracefully walked over to Brendan to see his work. Brendan rose to his feet. Wingull flying off his lap and onto his shoulder. "Hello mysterious cameraman." Her voice was soft and serene as the shallow waves.

Brendan blushed, "Hi, my name's Brendan." He held out a hand.

The lady extended out her own soft, cream colored hand. "Charmed. I'm Cindy. May I see your handiwork?" She sidled around Brendan and looked over his shoulder.

"Of course, I think this one turned out well." Brendan pulled up the photo and showed Cindy. It honestly turned out better than Brendan expected. "It definitely got your best side." Brendan smiled at his handiwork.

Cindy smiled serenely, "You're quite the photographer, Brendan. May I see some of your other work?"

Brendan shrugged, "Sure, they're mostly just landscapes and pictures of Pokemon." Brendan cycled through the pictures of the beach. Treecko climbed some trees. Wingull flapping around, and Ralts playing in the sand. He cycled through more and accidently pulled up his picture of Tia. "Oh whoops." He was about to cycle back to the other pictures when Cindy placed a hand on Brendan's.

"No, no. She's a cute one. Here I thought _I_ was the prettiest one on the beach." She pretended to pout.

Brendan tried to save face, "No, you are. Don't worry." Brendan's experience with models, saying what people wanted to hear was practically second nature. At least when it came to their looks. Personality; Brendan was not the best when it came to biting his tongue.

Cindy smirked, "It's not nice to tease an older woman." She joked. She had Brendan cycle through a few more and had his stop once more at the picture of Tia staring up at the stars. Cindy too saw something spectacularly captivating about Tia in that picture. "She really is a pretty one."

Ralts chimed in, "I think Cindy and Tia are both pretty." She lauded.

Cindy giggled and looked down at Ralts, "Well aren't you just the cutest thing." Ralts ate that up. "So who is this Tia? Your girlfriend?" Cindy had to know.

Brendan shook his head a bit more excitedly then he really meant to. "No, no. We just travel together. She's a trainer like me. We started our journey on the same day."

Cindy scanned the beach, "Where is she now?"

Brendan was wonder the same thing himself. "I don't know? Probably still swimming. I'm just keeping an eye on her things."

Cindy smiled brightly, "Well, since we have time. Care for a battle?" She produced a Pokeball. "You see Brendan; I too am a trainer of sorts." She stated proudly with plenty of confidence.

"How can I say no?" He grinned and had Wingull fly off his shoulder. "Watch closely Ralts, this will be good experience for you."

"Be gentle now." Cindy winked and called out her Zigzagoon.

Brendan chuckled, "Now who's being a tease?" Wingull flapped in place, waiting for a command. "Ladies first I suppose."

Cindy winked, "Such a gentleman. Zigzagoon, let's start with a Tail Whip."

"Uh-oh, Okay let's keep out distance Wingull. Give it a Water Gun." Keeping his distance won't be too hard since Wingull can fly and used Water Gun exclusively. Wingull gave himself some height before attacking. Wingull shot a stream of water from his beak down on Zigzagoon.

"Zigzagoon dive forward and go for a Tackle." Cindy knew what she was doing. She had her Zigzagoon dive headlong ahead so it could evade the attack. Zigzagoon then ran around the flying Wingull a bit to build speed and took a running leap into the air to Tackle Wingull.

Brendan was stunned that Zigzagoon actually managed to reach Wingull. So when Wingull got hit he needed a new plan. "Okay Wingull, hit it as it's falling." Wingull recovered from the hit and fired another Water Gun at Zigzagoon, propelling it to the ground.

Off in the distance, Tia was finally returning. After her battle with Darian she was even more pumped than before. She walked down the beach back to Brendan and her things, admiring the ocean air and the calm crashing of waves. She spotted something in the distance. It looked like Brendan battling another person. As they came into sight Tia noticed the Wingull and Zigzagoon battling. Tia figured Brendan must have caught it while she was swimming. She picked up the pace when all of sudden she stubbed her toe on something in the sand. "Ow, what the-" She picked up the unearth object, a Parlyz Cure. "Sweet, some trainer must have dropped this." She brushed the sand off and held onto it for possible future use.

As Tia made her way back she saw Brendan's battle was coming to an end. Wingull was doing its best to evade the oncoming attacks and fighting it off with Water Gun. Finally, after a bit of a close call on Brendan's part, he won. Tia didn't want to interrupt so she waited until the battle was done.

"Good job Brendan." Tia caught Brendan and Cindy's attention.

Brendan smiled modestly, "Thanks, but that was a close call in the end there. Cindy put up a tough fight."

Tia looked at Brendan's opponent and offered Cindy a hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Tia."

Cindy smile was practically radiant, even if it were a soft curling of her lips. She gave Tia a quick, delicate hand shake similar to how she did with Brendan. "It's a pleasure. Brendan told me about you." She turned back to Brendan. "May I borrow a piece of paper and a pen?"

"Um… sure?" He reached into his bag and handed her what she'd asked for.

In very delicate handwriting Cindy wrote a note for Brendan. "Here, when you get to town would you please send me that picture you took?" She handed him the paper with her email address on it.

"Oh, yeah no problem." Brendan made sure to keep the note in a safe place. "Nice meeting you." Brendan said politely as Cindy waved good bye and walked lightly down the beach.

"She seemed nice. I liked her dress." Tia thought it definitely gave off an elegant charm to it.

"She liked your swimsuit." Brendan chuckled. "Cindy said she was disappointed she wasn't the prettiest one of the beach." Brendan knew she was joking though.

Tia looked at the picture Brendan took of her and clicked over to her picture. She scowled, "I'm never wearing this suit again." She heads for the changing stall.

Brendan spoke to Tia through the door, "Why did you get it then?"

"Sabrina got It for me. She said guys would love it. Well that's not how I wanted guys to _love _it." Tia quickly washed herself off to get the sea water off her and out of her hair.

"Tia, it's a bikini. That's one of the reason behind the design." Brendan justified.

"I know!" She shouted through the partitions. "Doesn't mean that what I wanted."

Brendan sighed, "Fine, I give up. We'll pick up another swimsuit in Rustboro or something. I just don't know why it bothers you so much."

Tia stepped out fully changed back into her normal outfit. "Let's go." She says nothing more.

Brendan didn't get it, but either way it was over now. He still had the picture at any rate. They walked off the beach and headed for Petalburg Forest. Along the way they spot another trainer roaming around the trail to the forest.

Tia eagerly pulled out her Pokeball and confronted the trainer. A sharply dressed young man with a confident, winning smile. "Well looks like it's my lucky day. A trainer, and a cute one at that." He spoke in posh manners, practically oozing his social status.

"Lucky, unlucky. Depends on how you view losing to me." Tia wasn't afraid to meet his confidence head on. "My name's Tia by the way."

"Pleased to meet you. I am Winston and this," he calls out his Pokemon, "is Zigzagoon."

Tia smiled and called out Mudkip. "Let's get started then."

"We shall." Winston was ready to face Tia head on as well.

Brendan pulled out his camera. He took a few shots of Winston standing confidently, one hand in pocket, as he ordered his Zigzagoon. While also getting a few shots of Tia in the process. Tia exuded confidence when she was in battle. Even out of battle. So why was she so self-conscious about her looks? Brendan thought long and hard about it the entire time she battled. Which wasn't very long.

Winston humbly accepted his defeat. "Well, I guess the odds were against me from the beginning when you pulled out that Water Gun. Here, a token of your victory." He handed Tia a small golden orb.

"Holy crap a Nugget! Thanks Winston." Tia held it up to the fading sunlight as the Nugget shone a vibrant gold.

"A consolation as well." He handed her a scrap of paper with his number on it.

Tia smiled and rolled her eyes. "Nice try, buddy." She let him down easy, but that didn't seem to hurt Winston's ego any.

Winston shrugged, "You win some, you lose some. Have a nice day." The two walked past him and head for the forest. It's only after the battle Brendan realized Winston hadn't even so much as acknowledged his existence. Clearly Winston's eyes were on one thing.

Then it clicked. Of course, it was so obvious now. "I get it now!" Brendan exclaimed.

Tia jumped at his sudden and unexpected revelation. "What? How to scare the crap out of people? Because you sure nailed it."

Brendan shook his head, "No, why you are so self-conscious about your looks."

"Oh good, what every woman wants to hear." Tia couldn't be anymore sarcastic. "Look, I'm not self-conscious."

"Right, right. You just don't put a lot of stock in it. You want people to see you for you, not some prize or eye candy." Brendan explained.

Tia sighed and took a seat on a bare tree stump. "Brendan. Just stop. Please. I know you have good intentions, but it's not something I want to talk about. Okay? You're not just going to fix it, just because you understand it."

Brendan sunk his head. He didn't really realize how much Tia wanted to avoid the subject. "Sorry, I guess it's not something I'm used to. I've worked with a lot of women and they're all so hung up on their looks. Except you, so I figured something was wrong."

Tia shook her head, "I guess that makes sense, but all my life people have looked at me as this girl they think is attractive or hot or whatever. Never caring about _who _I am. Gary was different. He saw past that. He knew me, he got me." She explained. "_So did Silver._" She whispered.

"I get it, you're definitely not like other women. Just so you know though." Brendan stood up and offered Tia a hand. "The Tia I know is strong, smart, and good looking." He said with a cheesy grin.

Tia smiled and rolled her eyes. "It's a start." She took his head and hoisted herself up. The two entered into Petalburg Forest as the light from the sun slowly faded away. Ready for tomorrow's exciting adventures.

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><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well a lot certainly happened in this chapter. I really have been making sure to make the trainers they encounter along the way feel more interesting, as well as having more trainer battles in general. Also, for anyone wonder how i came up with those prices. I just based the Pokemon currency off Yen and converted it from USD [Circa January 2016] for convergence rates. I also made sure that, while Tia is the main character, her training and learning has more or less been completed so now it's Brendan's turn to be the learner, Tia is still not all powerful. I put Tom in the awkward position in the beginning of seeming like this nigh unstoppable character. Best trainer in the world not withstanding. So this chapter showed Tia's still got a lot of chinks in her armor.<p> 


	83. Chapter 81: A New Enemy

Chapter 81: A New Enemy

The catalyst of the land's forming was not natural, but the result of a super-ancient Pokemon. The personification of land itself.

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><p>The morning couldn't quite seem to come soon enough. Brendan lied awake in the Petalburg Woods. It couldn't be any later than five and Brendan couldn't sleep a wink. The sun had yet to rise so wondering around would mean doing it in the pitch dark of the woods. He sat up and looked over at Tia who was sound asleep. Maybe he wasn't yet used to sleeping outdoors. He seemed to fair well enough the night before. It wasn't even that cold, hot, or humid. The conditions were nothing short of perfect.<p>

Still Brendan couldn't bring himself to sleep another wink, no matter how hard he tried. Maybe it was homesickness? He could remedy that with a simple call home when they got to Rustboro, but that didn't feel like the cause either. Brendan had never known himself to have insomnia. So what could it be?

He once more looked to Tia and climbed out of his sleeping bag. He quietly tip-toed through the woods so he wouldn't wake his traveling companion or the resting Pokemon around him. The woods were quiet, tranquil, and refreshing so it wasn't his surroundings. Was he excited, nervous? Brendan stopped at a small lake bed where he dropped to his knees and splashed his face in cool water. He looked down at his dark reflection and readjusted his hat. Reaching in for another handful of water, this time to drink. It had a refreshing taste to it. A pure taste.

He sat around for a good while pondering his insomnia. Maybe it was only temporary? Worrying about nothing, he thought. Finally, the first glimpse of sunlight caught his eye. He stood up and looked at the sun breaking the horizon and tree line. Brendan slowly made his way back to the campsite he and Tia set up. To no real surprise, Tia was now up and meditating. There was yet another anomaly to Brendan. He's heard the potential benefits of meditating, but when Tia said it helped her hone her Ki, a concept still foreign to Brendan, he had to call it into question.

He once more tip-toed past Tia towards his bag and reached in to grab something to snack on for breakfast. They didn't really have the necessary tools to cook. Not that Brendan was much of a cook to begin with. He can only imagine his luck to find that Tia was in fact an expert on the matter.

Still, as Brendan ate he couldn't help stare. He didn't want to be rude, but it still strange. Tia looked so deep in concentration. Every now and then Tia seemed to respond to the littlest thing. A Pokemon scurrying on by or one passing through the trees. As if she knew they were there. It made Brendan forget what he was doing. He wasn't even aware of the fact he was standing behind her staring.

"Do you need something Brendan?" Tia asked tranquilly.

Brendan flinched and stumbled back. "No, no. Sorry, just lost in thought." How did she do that? Could she really see him from behind her? He needed to know. "How did you see me?"

"When I'm mediating, I can see Ki all around me. The range is limited, but it's all around me." Tia focused and let out a deep breath. "Like those Wurmple in the tree. That Beautifly overhead and more." Tia's ability amazed Brendan.

Brendan looked around at the Pokemon Tia pointed out. Pokemon he would have missed otherwise. "Wow, that's incredible."

Tia heard a scurrying and sensed a Pokemon. This wasn't an ordinary Pokemon though, it had a lot of Ki. She quickly reached for her Dex and stood up. The Pokemon in question was a Shroomish. Tia smiled and immediately called out Mudkip. "Alright Mudkip, I know it's a Grass Type, but don't worry. We can still beat it. Use Water Gun to soften it up a bit first." Tia was wise not to try and confront it head on right out of the gate, because the Shroomish looked a bit hostile at first glance.

Shroomish took a Water Gun to the back and turned to Mudkip with a sharp, leering gaze. It was not happy about that sneak attack. Shroomish ran in for the Tackle. Tia had Mudkip match it blow for blow with a head butting Tackle of their own. Shroomish was no fool though. Taking the opportunity to Absorb while Mudkip was close. Thankfully it was a weaker attack. The health just gave Tia the assurance that she wouldn't faint it too easily.

The battle persisted, Shroomish was no slouch. Which made Tia all the more excited to catch it. She knew it was a powerful contender and she's determined to make sure it didn't get away. "Alright, once more Mudkip. Tackle!" Shroomish ran forward with a Tackle while Mudkip mimicked it, but at the last second Mudkip jumped, flipped in the air, and landed on Shroomish with his tail fin.

While Shroomish was staggered and struggle to stay in the fight Tia broke out a Pokeball. "You're mine!" She shouted as she hurled the ball at Shroomish. The ball connected and trapped Shroomish. The Pokeball shook once, twice, three times and locked with a ping. Tia smiled triumphantly and picked up the Pokeball. "Now that's how we do it." She calls out her new Shroomish. He was still a little staggered so Tia quickly sprayed him with a Potion. She bent down and patted Shroomish on the head. "You're a feisty one." Shroomish bounced up and down and pretended to play fight. Lunging his head like he was jabbing his fists. Tia giggled. "Hey Brendan. What do you know about Shroomish?"

Brendan looked surprised and recalled what he's studied. "Let's see, pure Grass Type, sprays spores from its head, eats composted soil, oh and evolves into Breloom. A Grass/Fighting Type." His dad had a bad run in with a Shroomish, and yeah, the spores are quite nasty.

Tia cared more about the latter however. "Fighting Type huh? We're going to get along well." Tia was thrilled by the prospect of training another Fighting Type.

"Finally got yourself a second Pokemon. Felt weird when I had three and you still only had one." Brendan was wondered when she'd catch her first Pokemon. Apparently none of them really spoke to her up until this point.

"Yeah, I was feeling like I needed another one. Good thing Shroomish came along. By the way, why did you catch that Wingull?" Tia's seen enough Wingull to not be very impressed by them.

Brendan smiled, as if waiting for Tia to ask. "Glad you asked. Brendan produced an envelope from his backpack and called out his Wingull. Wingull and Pelipper are known for their remarkable use in the Hoenn Postal service." He put the letter in Wingull's bill. Wingull takes the letter and quickly flew off.

"Wow, where's Wingull going?" Tia knew about the Wingull delivery service, but she had no idea that most Wingull knew how to navigate the skies to deliver mail.

"He's heading for the post office in Petalburg. There's a huge nest of Wingull and Pelipper that deliver mail all over the region there. Wingull knows the scent of other Wingull and flocks to them. From there he drops off the letter and another Wingull or Pelipper will deliver it." Brendan explained the simply, yet refined system for delivering letters and parcels.

"Neat. Who's the letter for and how long will he be gone?" Tia though the practically may outweigh the impracticality for the trainer.

"Probably five minutes or so, Wingull are fast. Plus, it's close by. The letter is for a pen pal." Brendan finished packing up.

"Wow, email is so much more practical, but that's cute you still use old fashion letters." Tia giggled, she appreciated that people still enjoyed old fashion hand written letters as long distance communication.

Brendan chuckled, "We thought so too. So you ready to go?"

Tia was just as eager as Brendan to set out again. Tia also wanted a chance to test the mettle of her new Pokemon. She could see her team forming before her now. With a Water and Grass Type the first gym should be a walk in the park for her. Though Tia is still cautious and doesn't get a swelled head, lest she'd fall into the same trap she did against Falkner.

"So Brendan, have you decided if you're going to take on the gym yet?" Tia figured if he wanted to try it then she'd be fine with letting him get the first go at it.

Brendan thought about it more. "I guess I need the experience if nothing else. Plus, with Wingull and Treecko the odds are definitely in my favor."

Tia nodded, "Cool. When we get to Rustboro, you can go first."

"Thanks Tia." Brendan appreciated the offer. He just now hoped he won't completely embarrass himself.

The two made their way through the tranquil and quiet forest. The day was still young so not many trainers were roaming the first yet. There was a particular Bug Catcher though. No real surprise, they tended to get up pretty early. Young kids, eager to catch any Bug Type they came across. One snooped through the grass and spotted Tia. "A trainer!" He cheered.

Tia nearly jumped out of her skin, startled by the abrupt call. "What is with people and randomly shouting recently?" She wasn't so on edge, but it was putting Tia there. "So you want to battle, kid?" Tia had Shroomish at the ready. Going against Bug Types wasn't the best plan, but Tia's pretty confident they won't even have any Bug Types.

Brendan just smirked, "_She doesn't look phased at all._" Brendan grabbed his camera and started getting pictures of the battle. Tia and the Bug Catcher having their stand-off, Shroomish running into the fray, and of course plenty of nature scape shots. While all this was going on Brendan's Wingull flew back and landed on his shoulder. "Hey Wingull." He looked at Wingull's bill. "A letter back? That was quick." He grabbed the letter and started reading it to himself. Brendan smiled, "_Well that was nice._" He put the letter in his bag and resulted watching, but by the time he'd read the letter Tia had already won. "_Speaking of quick_."

"That was excellent Shroomish!" She picked up her new team member and held him above her head. "You did a good job too, Lyle. Just remember, practice makes perfect." Lyle was the boy's name. Brendan must have missed that when he was reading the letter.

The celebrating was cut short however. "Help me!" A man's voice cried out through the forest with great urgency. Without a second thought Tia and Brendan followed the distraught voice. Through the tall grass and dense thicket, the two finally reached the distressed man.

A scientist with a metal briefcase was pinned against a tree as a Poochyena snarled at him. "Now listen buddy, you're going to hand over those parts or things will get ugly real quick." A cocky looking man in a bizarre red outfit threatened the scientist. What stood out was a large stylized M that resembled a mountain range on the man's shirt.

"I can't! This is classified Devon Corporation machinery. We've spent months working on these parts." The frail scientist clung to the briefcase for dear life.

"The hard way it is." The man in red said.

"Hey, how about you pick a fight with someone who can fight back." Tia wasn't afraid to intervene. Though Brendan instantly worried about what she'd just gotten herself into.

"Back off girly, this is between me and Mr. Devon-Corp-Employee here." The man in red paid Tia little mind.

"Shroomish, you know what to do." Shroomish nodded and scowled. Taking aim, Shroomish ran towards the Poochyena and tackled it in the side.

"Oh that's it. You're not interfering with our work. Trainers like you should mind their own business. Poochyena use Tackle on that pesky Shroomish." Poochyena fought back and wasn't afraid to play dirty. "Sand Attack!" Poochyena kicked up sand in Shroomish's face, making it hard for him to see.

"Shroomish, you can do this. Use Absorb." Shroomish went for an Absorb, but Poochyena was fast enough to avoid the blinded Pokemon. Tia paused and waited for Poochyena's next strike. "Shroomish, I want you to calm down and stand still." Shroomish was skittish at first, but Tia's words came through. Shroomish stood still. "Now, with me. Breathe in." Tia took a deep breath in while Poochyena was poised to strike. "Let it out when I say so." Poochyena circled Shroomish. Shroomish could finally hear Poochyena's movement clear as day. In a split second Poochyena leapt forward. "Now!" Tia shouted.

Shroomish let out his breath and flew right into Poochyena with a critical Tackle. Poochyena flew back and crashed the ground. Sliding back to the man's feet. "No way!" He couldn't believe his eyes. "I'm not giving up those parts without a fight."

Tia dashed over and stood between the man and hapless scientist. She smirked and cracked her knuckles. "Go ahead buddy. Make my day." Tia looked quite intimidating in the moment.

Brendan walked up behind him with Wingull and Treecko providing added support. "I wouldn't try it dude. I mean, look at those abs. She would lay you out."

Tia chuckled, "Thanks Brendan, but I can handle my own smack talk. So who are you?" She asked with authority.

The man swallowed a lump in his throat. "I am a member of the renowned Team Magma. We need those parts for our mission. Devon Corp is wasting their technology on trivial matters." The Team Magma grunt explained.

The parts weren't what Tia fixated on. "Team Magma. Team Magma? Team!" She growled and grabbed him by the collar with both hands. She raised him off his feet and slammed him against an adjacent tree. "You have exactly five second to come up with a reason for why I should brain you with this tree!" Tia shouted, completely enraged.

"Tia!" Brendan put a hand on her shoulder. She glared back at Brendan. Brendan kept his cool and simply shook his head. "He's not worth it."

Tia sighed and frowned. She dropped the now petrified grunt. "Get the hell out of here. Don't ever harm the innocent people of this region again." The grunt promptly fled with his tail between his legs and pants most likely darkened.

"So team is your trigger?" Brendan seemed very confused by this.

Tia calmed down, her fists still shaking from adrenaline and rage. "It's more complicated than that. I have a feeling this Team Magma isn't too different from those bastards in Team Rocket and Team Cipher." The mere thought of this drudged up so many painful memories Tia never wanted to think about ever again.

"Tia," Brendan put hands on both her upper arms to comfort her, "it's okay. He's gone now. No offense, but you're kind of terrifying when you're angry." Brendan gave a soft chuckle.

Tia smiled, "Thanks Brendan. Not about the terrifying thing. Should probably work on that though. Still, I just heard him say that and it just dug up so many bad memories." She turned back to the scientist. "Don't think he'll be bothering you anymore sir."

The scientists breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much trouble there would have been if he made off with these parts. Here's a token of my appreciation." He handed Tia a Great Ball.

"Wow, thanks." Tia put it into her bag.

"No, thank you." The scientist started heading for the forest's exit.

"Be careful on your way back." Brendan instructed.

"Thank you, but the path ahead is full of trainers so I'm sure I'll be fine. Stop by the Devon Corp. Headquarters sometime. I'd love to give you the grand tour." The man headed out.

"Well that was an exciting way to start the day. Let's hurry back to Rustboro City. We can still make it before the start of the World Tournament broadcast." Brendan and Tia both double timed it out of the woods. Leaving the memory of this less than pleasant encounter behind them.

Although, little did the two know. There was someone else watching their little altercation. A young woman maybe a year or two older than Tia and Brendan watched in wait. She wore a similar Team Magma uniform. She spoke into a radio. "...This is the Petalburg recon team checking in. I'm afraid I have to begin with an apology, Ms. Courtney... It's not good news... It's not good news... The mission is a no-go... A little something cropped up and got in the way... ...Roger that. ...Got it. Will do. I'll continue investigating that energy we detected." She puts the radio away and looks down at a small Whismur following close behind her. "Well she definitely looked like a promising trainer. Don't you think so Aster?"

"_Mum_…" The Whismur responded in an odd way.

"You're absolutely right. You're such a smart girl, Aster." The woman walked off with Aster close in toe. There was much more going on here than Tia and Brendan could even begin to know.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well a lot of things got set up here. One lingering plot thread we'll be following up on for a very long time. The introduction to Team Magma and a surprise character. Thanks to ORAS Hoenn's plot line actually changed quite a bit, mostly everything after the initial arc, but we'll get to that in time. So yes, the not so secret introduction of Zinnia is out of the way, though much like in ORAS her importance will be explored much later down the line.<p> 


	84. Chapter 82: The World Stage

Chapter 82: The World Stage

The roars of the primordial seas struggled viciously against the rising land. The sea incarnate fought the land. This was not nature's will. It was a battle.

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><p>"Come on Brendan, get the lead out. I want to make it to Rustboro before the final rounds of the world tournament starts." Tia called back to Brendan as she ran through the northern portion of Route 104. Tia was practically in a full on sprint to the bridge connecting the two halves of a lake dividing the route.<p>

Brendan lagged quite a way behind. He gasped and struggled for air. "I'm sorry," he wheezed, "that I – can't – run a mile- in under five minutes." His chest was tight. Brendan though his legs were going to give right after his heart exploded. Sweat was pouring down his face in buckets.

"Geez, you're not exactly the fittest guy I've met." Tia finally slowed down and ran back to Brendan. "Maybe you should work out more?"

Tia's advice was less than appreciated. "There's a difference between being in shape and whatever you are." He argued. Tia had the strength and stamina of a martial artist. Her standards and his were two entirely different levels. "Besides, you're in cargo shorts and a tank top. You're wearing clothes that are better for hiking and working out." This was a good point. Tia had made an effort to dress fashionably and effectively.

Tia rolled her eyes, "You're worse than Sabrina. She got winded riding a bike and passed out." Tia recalled the time when they traveled together. Tia's physical stamina was apparent then and especially now.

Brendan pulled out a water bottle and downed a huge gulp. Splashing a bunch of it on his face in the process. "Oh sweet relief." He drank as if it were the first time he'd drank water in days. "Tia, we have plenty of time to get to the Pokemon Center to watch the coverage. Don't worry. Plus, it's all streamed online. So we can watch the previous battles too." It's not the same as seeing it live, but still just as good.

Tia sighed, "Fine, fine. Have it your way. We'll walk the rest of the way. After the tournament is over, I'll probably get some more last minute training in too. Want to make sure Mudkip and Shroomish get plenty of experience before taking on the gym." Tia pretty much already had her day planned out.

"Do you _have _an off switch?" Brendan complained, mostly because his knees felt like Ditto. He admired her spirit, but anymore of this running and he'd probably keel over.

Tia just shook her head, "Nope. Too pumped." She grinned from ear to ear and moved on with Brendan continuing to lag behind.

The two began crossing the large bridge when they saw two kids standing, looking out at the lake. They hear Tia and Brendan's footsteps and quickly turn around. The two were twin girls wearing green dresses. The two looked completely identical. As if mirrors of each other. "Not so fast-" The first started.

"We challenge every trainer that crosses the bridge." The second finished.

"Wow, they're in perfect sync. That's adorable." Tia fawned over the small twins.

One nodded, "We sure are. I'm Gia!"

"And I'm Mia!" The second twin continued. "We're the battling twins. We're so in sync we finish each other's-"

"Sandwiches!" Gia blurted out.

Brendan picked the bridge of his nose. "_That's_ the reference you're going with?"

"We think it's funny." Gia pouted.

"I wasn't talking to you two." Brendan stated.

"Still, battle twins are so cute. My brother and I should have done that, darn!" Tia suddenly regretted all the years she wasted not training.

"Wait, you have twin brother?" This was news to Brendan.

"Yeah, you saw him on TV. Red, he's my younger, twin brother." Tia took pride in Red's accomplishment. She'll also give him endless amounts of grief if he doesn't at least make it to the final eight of the PWT.

"Wait, so your brother was once the Kanto League champion?" Brendan is further surprised by Tia rather auspicious background. "Anyway," he turned his attention back to the twins, "I'm Brendan and this is Tia."

"No way!" Gia exclaimed. "Gia, Mia, and Tia? That's so funny!"

Tia giggled, "Small world isn't it?"

"Then we challenge you two to a double battle!" Mia said with such confidence and vigor.

"A double battle?" Tia was unfamiliar with the concept.

Brendan looked over, equally surprised, but for another reason. "You don't know what a double battle is?" Even Brendan was familiar with the format.

"I mean I can guess by the name, but I didn't know people did that." The name was pretty self-explanatory, but Tia had never participated in one up to this point. "So this will be a two-on-two Pokemon battle."

"That's right!" Gia cheered.

"Yeah, but a lot of trainers do solo double battles. So a trainer would send out two Pokemon against another trainer's two Pokemon. It adds a new level of strategizing, because you have to constantly be focusing on both your Pokemon." Brendan gave Tia a quick rundown off the format.

"Alright, so we got to work as a team, Brendan." Tia grabbed her Pokeball and called out Shroomish.

Brendan nodded, "You got it. Go Wingull." Brendan opted to call out Wingull over Treecko. Feeling Wingull needed to catch up and Ralts still didn't have any attacking moves.

"Then we'll use our Seedot and Lotad!" Gia and Mia say in unison.

"They even speak in time. That's so cute!" Tia couldn't help fawn over the twins even more. Even if she and Red never acted like that, it still brought her back to her youth.

"Focus." Brendan reminded Tia.

"Right, let's start with an Absorb on Lotad." Tia immediately honed in on Lotad.

"Seedot jump in front of Lotad and use Harden!" Gia ordered her Pokemon to protect Mia's. Seedot intercepted the Absorb and strengthen its defenses.

"Wish I had a Wing Attack right about now. Water Gun the Seedot." Brendan had Wingull go for some easy chip damage.

"Nature Power Lotad!" Mia proclaimed.

Brendan gathered their surroundings and assessed the attack. "Tia, get Shroomish out of the way. Nature Power is determined by the environment around the Pokemon. We're on a lake so it's going to be a Hydro Pump."

Tia didn't like the sound of that. "Brendan, have Wingull dive down."

"What?" He protested.

"Just do it!" Tia ordered.

Brendan furrowed his brow, not liking this idea, but he had to trust his partner. "Fine, Wingull swoop down, but don't stick around too long."

Tia watched Wingull rapidly descend. "Jump Shroomish." Shroomish took a running leap and hopped onto Wingull's back with perfect timing.

The Hydro Pump fired off and missed its intended targets. "Alright! Now Tackle that Lotad!" Shroomish jumped off Wingull's back and dive bombed Lotad. Shroomish fell through the air with his head aimed right at Lotad. With expert precision Shroomish hit his mark dead on. The two collided heads. Even Seedot was surprised by this display.

"Water Gun Seedot again." Brendan hoped to distract Seedot enough so Tia could focus on Lotad.

"Absorb!" Tia quickly responded.

"Astonish!" Mia cried out to Lotad, but poor Lotad wasn't fast enough. Shroomish used the opportunity to siphon away the last of Lotad's health.

"Now Wingull Growl." Brendan used this opportunity to weaken Seedot's attack.

"Thanks Brendan. Tackle again Shroomish." Shroomish finished off Seedot as well.

"Aw, we lost." Mia pouted.

"You two are super strong!" Gia praised Tia and Brendan's teamwork.

"Well Tia did most of the work." Brendan modestly admitted.

"Hey, it was a team effort. Wingull got Shroomish out of a tough spot there a couple times." Tia wasn't going to take all the credit.

"Thanks for the fun battle." Gia said and handed them both prize money.

They let Tia and Brendan pass over the remainder of the bridge. Rustboro was just in front of them. The large city scape was a stark contrast to all the other small towns they'd been in prior. It was probably the biggest city Tia's seen outside of Goldenrod and Celadon City. It was still early but the city was bustling and active still.

Tia's eyes lit up. "Wow, Rustboro is huge!" Though to a small town girl like Tia, most cities were considerably bigger than what people usually thought.

Brendan pulled out his camera and took a few pictures of the skyscrapers and the people running around town. "Yeah, Rustboro is one of the bigger cities in Hoenn. The buildings are designed with stone to give it that rustic charm." The emphasis on granite, marble, and slate really set Rustboro apart from other cities like it. "The city's biggest boon," Brendan pointed to the largest building complex in the city, "is the Devon Corporation Headquarters. Mr. Stone has run the company for over thirty years now, as well as his father, and his father's father before him." Devon Corp. had quiet the storied history.

"Wow, so that's why the city's so big? What do they do?" Tia was surprised by how informed Brendan was.

"They are a huge scientific research company like Silph Co. They've even developed on the fossil revival process made popular by Blaine on Cinnabar Island." Brendan further explained. "They brought a lot of work and wealth to Rustboro."

"Cool, that's how I got my Aerodactyl." She though back to her trainer days in Kanto like they were so long ago.

"Devon Corp. also does a lot of work with experimental technology as well. Like teleporting panels and thinks like that. They call it Infinite Energy, but I don't anything more than that." Brendan still knew quite a lot about Devon Corp. regardless.

"Good to know. Come on, let's get to the Pokemon Center!" Tia quickly checked the time and saw they had about another half hour or so until the tournament kicked off the second day.

The Pokemon Center was a bit larger than the others they'd encountered in Hoenn so far. More trainers needed to be accommodated since this was a big city and had a gym. So a few people were already coming down and gathering to watch the footage.

The PWT was one of the most watched broadcasts in the world, it's a wonder how Tia's gone her whole life without having ever watched it. Though, if she'd seen the year before she would have immediately recognized a certain trainer she'd later on meet.

Tia and Brendan scanned the building. They had plenty of spots to get a good viewing and they had time. "Perfect timing, I'm going to grab a quick shower and be back down." Tia explained.

"I second that." Brendan had to imagine he was smelling pretty ripe to after all the time they spent sleeping in the wilderness. They both grabbed keys to a room from Nurse Joy and headed up. This particular center had shower stalls instead of fitting them into the rooms. So Tia and Brendan dropped their things off and head off to the bathrooms.

Cleaned and refreshed they meet back up downstairs where they took a seat at a table with a few other trainers. A girl around their age and two guys. "Hi there." One heavier set guy politely introduced himself.

"Hi, name's Tia." She politely shook his head.

"Coby. So you a trainer too?" Coby pulled out a badge case with his Stone Badge in it.

Tia examined it closely, "I sure am, is this the badge from the Rustboro City gym?"

The girl next to Coby spoke up showing off her own. "Yeah, we just earned ours yesterday. I'm Nel by the way."

"Nice to meet you too. We just got in town. Brendan and I." Brendan waved casually. "We plan on challenging the gym later."

"Will this be your first gym battle?" The third trainer spoke up.

Tia shook her head, "In Hoenn, yes, but I've competed in Kanto and Johto before this."

While Tia conversed, Brendan pulled out his camera and started doing his regular maintenance on it. Cleaning the lens, making sure the buttons weren't starting to stick, and thoroughly cleaning the shutter.

"Nice camera there, man." The third trainer addressed Brendan.

"Thanks, I've had this guy for years. It's a P800 model with 50 megapixels." Brendan flaunted his camera.

The trainer nodded, "I thought so. I'm a bit of an enthusiast myself. Name's Colin." He pulled out his own camera.

"Nice to meet ya. Brendan." He carefully checked out the camera with his microfiber cloth keeping his bare hands from touching Colin's camera. "Cool, this is one of the new P500 models isn't it. A great entry level camera." Brendan's first camera was an even older version of this model.

Nel listened in on their conversation. "Boys and their cameras." She giggled. "So is this really your first time watching the PWT?"

Tia nodded, "Yeah, I was never really into training until this past year. I just happened to take to it really well."

"Well this one is looking to be pretty exciting." Coby said as the feed started up on TV.

Everyone gave the TV their undivided attention as the commentators introduce the show. "Hello once again ladies and gentleman. Welcome back to the second day of the Pokemon World Tournament coverage. I'm John." He announced enthusiastically.

"And I'm Bob."

"And today is the final day of coverage for the PWT. We have our eight finalist, which we will give you a quick recap of." John reported.

"But first, for anyone who missed yesterday's exciting coverage, here are some of the fan favorite highlights." Bob spoke as footage flashed on screen. "Of course, you can check out all the battles for free online anytime." A lot of it was random trainers, but several shots of Tom, Anna, Gary, Red, and Sabrina caught Tia's attention.

"Now let's take a look at our finalists. Starting off in Block A, to little surprise, we have our current World Champion Tom." A large number of trainers in the center started clapping.

Tia chuckled, "I'm not surprised."

John continued, "Next up in Block B is the first of our newcomers. Facing overwhelming odds and breezing through like the former champ he is. We have Red of Pallet Town."

"Woo! You go bro!" Tia cheered louder than anyone.

Nel looked amazed, "Wait, that's your brother?"

Tia nodded, "You know it." She was of course proud, but this was going to be the real test.

Bob took over a few announcements. "In Block C we have another returning contender, Sabrina of Saffron City. I'm sure I speak for a lot of people when I say this was not unexpected. Much like this next one, in Block D, we of course have Morty of Ecruteak City. I'm sure we're all looking forward to another sibling rivalry battle out of those two as well."

"I know I am Bob," John gave a hearty laugh, "coming up in Block E is another new face. I am of course taking about Another of Kanto's former champions Gary Oak. I must say I missed the days when Pallet Town put out all-stars. I'm glad to see that trend has continued with this next generation." John said fondly.

Bob comments too, "Noland, Red's father, was from Pallet Town and I remember the days he used to compete in the PWT. Those were always exciting times. I heard he had a daughter too. Wonder if we'll see her on the world stage one of these days alongside her brother?"

"You know it!" Tia shouted at the screen.

"Tia, please dial it down about a thousand percent." Brendan shook his head, but he was glad to see Tia so excited.

"Anyway, following Gary in Block F we have another returning favorite, Erika of Celadon City. This calm and serene gym leader hardly broke a sweat in her climb through the block." John showed some footage of Erika breezing through her matches.

"That's for sure John. In Block G is the last of our newcomers, Anna of Goldenrod City. And I'll tell you what. Looks can be quite deceiving, because this sometimes meek looking young lady does not pull any punches on the battlefield. And last we have in Block H our last returning trainer. I'm of course talking about the ever stoic Volkner of Sunyshore City." The room had been filled with a mixtures of cheers for all the trainers, but Volkner seemed to garner quite a bit of swooning from the ladies in the room.

"_Pretty boy alert._" Brendan chuckled.

Nel especially seemed to fawn over him. "He's so cool. He's just always so chill."

"You know he's dating Jasmine of Olivine City, right?" Tia gossiped.

"No way! I knew it! People are taking pictures of them together all the time." Nel was giddy that her real life, head canon pairing was real.

Brendan commented to himself, "_Too bad Elesa didn't make it to the finals._"

The feed then cuts over to the eight finalists talking amongst themselves, before the finals get underway. Volkner seemed to immediately walk over to Anna, "I'm hoping we'll get a rematch today." He said with a soft smile.

Anna smiled and shook his head, "I do too."

Morty walked over as well, "How's it feel being in the big leagues?"

Anna smiled, "It's excited, but I'm so nervous."

As she said this Red walked over and put an arm around the small of her back, "I wish I could battle all of you, but I know who I'm really aiming for." Red looked back at Tom.

Tom smiled with a cocky grin, "Want to lose to me that badly?"

"Funny," Red retorted sarcastically, "pride comes before the fall, Tom." The two exchanged some cocky banter like they were rivals.

The commentators come back on. "Alright, the roster has been randomized and here are our pairings." Bob declared.

John took over, "In round one we have Tom versus Gary Oak." Gary seemed to wince at this.

"Poor Gary." Tia commented.

"After that is Sabrina versus Erika. Followed by Volkner versus Anna. Finally, Red versus Morty." John finished giving the roster. "We'll begin with the first match after a brief commercial break."

Everyone immediately started betting on who will win. "Oh Tom is so going to beat Gary." Nel was sure of this.

Tia sighed, "Yeah, poor Gary. Tom's still a better trainer. Too bad he can't use-" Tia quickly covered her mouth. She was close to saying Keldeo. Thankfully no one really paid it much mind.

Coby spoke up, "Sabrina versus Erika? I'm thinking Erika."

"No way, it's got to be Sabrina." Colin stepped in.

"What do you think Tia?" Nel asked.

Tia had to think hard about this one. "Sabrina would be using her Psychic Types so if Erika brought out any part Poison Types, then Sabrina will have a huge advantage. Plus, that Gallade of hers is no joke." She wasn't sure, because Tia knew Erika was great under pressure, but so was Sabrina. "I'm going to go with Sabrina, but it'll be a close one. So what about Volkner and Anna?" Tia felt her choice was pretty obvious.

"Volkner." Nel swooned.

"I'd have to go with Volkner. He's got a lot more experience than Anna does as both a gym leader and a competitive trainer." Colin had a very sound reasoning.

"I'm with them." Coby chimed in.

Tia shook her head, "It's going to be Anna. I _know _she won't lose first round like this."

Brendan chimed in as well. "I don't know. She looks like she would be the kind to crack under pressure." None of them knew her like Tia did of course.

Tia rolled her eyes, "I travelled with her, I know."

"Really?" Nel looked positively stunned.

"No way." Coby sounded skeptical.

Tia smiled and walked over to the PC. She quickly dialed Anna's X-Transceiver. "Hey Tia, I'm sorry I'm a little busy at the moment." She said apologetically. Nel, Coby, and Colin all just stare mouths agape.

"It's fine, I just wanted to wish you luck against Volkner." She said with a bright smile.

"Hey Anna, who are you talking to?" Tia hears the oh-so-familiar sound of her brother. "Hey T, you watching the broadcast?"

"Yeah, I turned on the TV and I swear I saw some dorks on that looked just like you and Gary." Tia chuckled.

"Thank sis, always appreciate it." He knew she was obviously joking. Red began walking off.

"Red wait," Tia quickly stopped him, "Don't lose. Unless it's too Anna." They shared a chuckled. "Seriously though, I'm proud of you. I'm sure mom and dad are too."

"Thanks sis. Hold on." Red ran off and grabbed Gary. "Got anything to say to Gary?"

"I do. I know you're probably bummed to be going against Tom, but seriously Gary. Win or lose, make Tom sweat." Tia said with a smug smile.

Gary shot her back his signature grin. "Will do Tia. Thanks."

"Hey Tia, we got to get going. Thanks for calling. We'll definitely talk after the tournament's over." Anna promised.

"You bet. Later Anna." Tia waved goodbye.

"Wow, I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it." Nel looked almost star struck. Tia retook her seat at the table.

"You've got a lot of strong friends." Coby commented. Tia smiled, but Brendan saw something else in that smile.

The match finally began with a bang. Everyone's eyes and attention were glued on the screen. Still Brendan briefly glimpsed at Tia. He tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey." He sounded a lot more stoic.

"Hey." Tia said energetically, but when she saw his face she knew he was thinking about something else.

"You alright?" His question seemed almost out of nowhere.

Tia nodded, "It's tough. Being around so many strong trainers. I guess I've started holding myself to their standards. It drives me, yeah."

"But you're wondering if you'll ever be as good as them?" Brendan knew a thing or two about this.

Tia quickly wiped a stray tear from her eye. "Yeah, everyone talks about Tom, Gary, Red, and Anna like they're the best in the world. Plus," she motioned to the screen, "well they are. Is it too late for me? People say I can be just as good, but I couldn't hardly touch Tom at his best."

Brendan was not surprised, but in some ways he was. "You sure know how to hide it well. I feel the same way. I don't think I could ever hold a candle to Tom. Even you for that matter. The way you're always giving advice drives me crazy inside, because I don't want to feel like I'm incompetent." Brendan got a bit off his chest.

Tia blushed, "Oh Brendan, I'm sorry. That's just how I was taught so I just kind of mimicked Tom."

Brendan dismissed it, "It's fine. Better get it out there now, before it boils over and we get into a fight over it."

Tia chuckled, "Yeah, melodrama is the last thing we need. You're doing great though."

"So are you. I can totally see you someday on that stage." Brendan pointed back at screen. The two quietly watched the match unfolding.

Surprisingly, what Tia said had apparently struck a chord. Gary was holding his own very well against Tom. Tom led off with his Arcanine. A common strategy for him. Gary predicted this and got a good solid lead when he took down Arcanine. Gary lost a couple Pokemon, but very quickly made up his ground. Even having Tom on the ropes at one point. Unlike their first battle, Gary actually managed a slight lead. Still in the end, once Tom got his Flygon out it was downhill from there. Gary and his Pokemon fought tooth and nail, even managing some pretty intense damage on Flygon, but in the end Tom claimed the win.

"Wow, what an intense match!" John came on to commentate via the replays.

"You said it John. Gary and his team put up one heck of a battle. They may have lost, but there was no shame in that defeat. Gary, hold your head high. That was the best way to kick off these finals." Bob applauded Gary's battling skills.

In the middle of the commentary Tia got a call on her own X-Transceiver. "Holy crap that was insane." Tom was on the other end sweating from that battle.

"Gary gave you a run for your money huh?" Tia giggled.

"No joke, I feel like I just ran a marathon. What did you say to him?" Tom fanned himself off.

"I just said, make you sweat." Tia explained. Though Tia felt a twinge of envy. If this was how Gary battled against Tom, does that mean he was holding back against her? Did Gary even realize he was holding back?

"Really, I figured you promised him a little T and A if he won." Tom of course fired back with his crude humor.

"Tom, I will kill you!" Tia shouted into her phone. Snapping her right out of her funk.

"Tom?" Nel asked.

Tom is cracking up on the other end. "So how's Hoenn treating you?" Tom and Tia both looked to their respective TVs for the next match.

"Good, we're in Rustboro right now. So looks like you'll be going up against Sabrina or Erika next match." Tia commented.

"Smart money's on Sabrina and that's not me playing favorites. She's been training constantly for this. Like daily this past month."

Tia nodded, "I know, I visited one day when she was training. She beat me good. What about Anna and Volkner?" Tia wanted his opinion.

"Anna, hands down." Tom thankfully wasn't in the same room. There was a communal room, but the eight also had their own rooms to watch from as well. "Morty versus Red's a bit tougher, but I'm still betting on your brother. He's got a lot of potentially challenging matches. Between Morty and Anna." Tom assessed.

"Well, I'll leave you to that then. Good luck." Tia hung up and continued watching.

The next battle went just as Tom had anticipated. It was interesting for Tia to see Sabrina and Erika battle against one another. They both had a very calm nature about them. Though Erika was more calm and serene, while Sabrina was the calm and calculated type. The crux of Sabrina strategy was to make sure Erika wasn't able to inflict confusion, poison, or paralysis. While Erika did her best to avoid any psychic blasts. Erika's most valued Pokemon were certainly her Bellossom and Tangrowth. While Sabrina's MVPs were Alakazam and Gallade. In the end it was a well-earned win for Sabrina. Which meant she'll be facing off against Tom in the Semi-finals.

Coby laughed, "Looks like the world champ is going against his girlfriend in the semi-finals. Hope that doesn't distract him."

"No way!" Nel protested.

Brendan and Tia were inclined to agree. Tom wouldn't go easy on a crippled, old lady if she stood between him and the champion's title.

"It's Volkner and Anna up next." Tia was excited. She sat in her seat patiently as they entered the main arena. Anna did look a bit nervous being on the world stage. By contrast, Volkner looked like a mixture of bored and right at home.

He did crack a smile, "Relax, you'll do just fine. If it makes you feel better, just pretend there's no one here." Volkner gave Anna some reassuring advice.

Anna took a deep breath and stared down Volkner with determination. "Thanks Volkner. You're definitely a lot more used to this than I am. Let's both do our best." Anna replied, feeling far less tense.

The match began with Volkner calling out a Luxray and Anna starting out with her Blissey. Blissey looked absolutely elated to see all the people watching him. Thankfully, he doesn't try running off like usual.

The match immediately began with a bang. Luxray ran in with a Wild Charge. Blissey took the hit very well thanks to his abundance of health. Both Volkner and Anna looked very calm and in their element. Anna especially, she acted like the crowd wasn't even there. She had battled Volkner once before with Tom, but neither Regigigas or Heatran will be present in this battle.

The battle actually ended a bit quicker than the previous two. Anna showed a steady lead from the beginning, taking down Luxray and his Raichu with just her Blissey. There was actually a significant gap between them in terms of strength. Electivire came out and dealt with Blissey swiftly using a Cross Chop. Anna's next Pokemon was her Porygon-Z. Which managed to fight off Volkner's Pokemon very well. Up until the end when she needed to switch into Braviary for the final few blows of the match. The difference in their skills was imitately apparent the second Blissey got going. Volkner was an incredibly strong trainer, but Anna was still somehow in an entirely different league. No surprise when Tom himself regarded Anna as one of the strongest trainers he knew. In terms of strength Anna was on Tom's level easily.

The entire Pokemon Center was amazed by what they just saw. Anna won, using only three of her six Pokemon. Losing the previous two to battle fatigue more than anything. "Wow, Tia definitely called it. That Anna is the real deal." Colin noted.

Coby spoke up, "She could easily wind up in the finals against Tom."

"If she can beat Red." Tia correctly pointed out.

"If Red can beat Morty." Nel also pointed out. Though Tia wasn't worried.

Sure enough, Red and Morty's battle were a lot closer, but in the end Red had a wider range of Pokemon to work with as well as all the experience that came with being a onetime league champion. Tia knew her brother wouldn't lose to Morty anyway. Red was too proud to lose the first round of the World Tournament. He was determined to see his way to final round.

Still it was now down to Tom versus Sabrina, and Red versus Anna. A double case of boyfriend versus girlfriend. Still, Tia knew none of them would let that get in the way of victory.

Tom and Sabrina first took the stage to fanfare all around. Their relationship obviously quite public at this point so that generated a lot of buzz. This was definitely the more highly anticipated battles. In their years participating in the PWT, Tom and Sabrina had never been slotted to go up against each other until now.

"Good luck Sabrina." Tom said with a gentle smile.

"You too dear, and if you go easy on me, I'll make you pay." Sabrina smirked. Knowing Tom above all else would never go easy on an opponent. Even one he was close to. The match ended as expected with Tom beating Sabrina, but Sabrina was not kidding. Tom couldn't let up for a second. Sabrina was constantly pushing him back with every advance. Stalemating him at every opportunity. This was the longest match by far. Sabrina knew all of Tom's strategies so he was stuck thinking on his feet the whole time while Sabrina continuously put pressure on him and his team. Like a chess master mind. In the end it was Tom and his team's superior strength that won it for them, but this could have very easily gone in Sabrina's favor if Tom had accidently slipped up.

Tia and the rest of the people in the center were practically sweating bullets. "Wow, Sabrina's no joke either. Tom is really working for these wins." Brendan commented.

Tia had never really seen Sabrina fight all out before, except for that brief battle they had in her gym back in Kanto, but even then Sabrina seems to be on an entirely different level from that time as well.

The second Semi-final match was about to begin when Nel spoke up. "Alright Tia, between Anna and your brother. Who are betting on?"

Tia had to really think about this one. Red had more experience and was already an excellent trainer, but Anna was too. Arguably, she could be better than Red. So Tia had to reserve her judgement. "Honestly, this could go either way. Not that I really want to choose between my brother and one of my best friends."

The battle came on, Anna looked much more comfortable. Red noted this, "You're looking a lot more in the zone."

Anna giggled, "That's because I know what to expect out of you, Red. All that training we did paid off after all."

Red smiled, "Told ya, but don't think I'm going to go easy on you. I gotta win or I'll never hear the end of it from a certain sister of mine." Red knew Tia wouldn't miss a chance to tease him about losing to his own girlfriend. "So good luck to ya, babe."

"Thanks Red, you too." Anna was shaking with excitement.

Red opened up with a Machamp, knowing Anna would open with her Blissey or Zangoose. Unfortunately for Red, Anna predicted that he would think that so she opened with her Braviary. Already at the disadvantage, but Red was nothing if not versatile. Making the best of a bad situation was one of his strong points. While Anna excelled at putting on offensive pressure with her Pokemon. So Red needed to stay on his toes if he wanted to win this match.

Braviary was without a doubt a huge struggle, and unfortunately for Red, he was not able to take down Anna's Pokemon so easily. Braviary won, but Red just as quickly leveled the playing field with his Electrode. The battle persisted, neither side budging an inch. It was amazing how Anna could match Red blow for blow effortlessly.

It was almost humbling for Tia to watch. Knowing her own twin brother was on an entirely different level from her that Tia would probably spend years trying to reach. Still, it was that same enormous gap in strength that gave Tia the determination to want to meet that strength.

The whole thing was one of the most intense matches Tia's ever seen. Both Red and Anna were down to their last Pokemon, one hit was all it took from either side. Anna's Porygon-Z versus Red's Lapras. Anna went for a risky move by using Thunder, but if she connected it would secure her the win. She would have gone with a much more accurate Thunderbolt, but that wouldn't have been nearly enough damage. While Red went for an Ice Beam.

"Thunder!" Anna shouted.

"Ice Beam!" Red knew he could win if he just got the hit. Still Anna's Pokemon got the first attack. The Thunder came crashing down towards Lapras. This was the deciding blow. A huge crash of light filled the stadium, in a flash it was gone. Thunder missed.

Red won in what could only be considered an extremely lucky manner. If Anna had connected with Thunder she would have won. It was a tough pill for both of them to swallow, but in the end Red was the one who came out on top. He walked up to Anna. "That was one of the best matches I've ever had."

Anna smiled and wiped beads of sweat from her forehead. "Me too, Red." As she shook his hand, Red pulled her in close, put an arm around the small of her back and gave her a quick kiss in front of the entire audience. Anna stared up wide eyed and bright red. "Red, I… um… god now I'm embarrassed." She covered her flaring cheeks. Red laughed and put an arm around her shoulder as they exited the stage.

The entire center was shocked once more. Tia was laughing her head off. She was laughing so much she had tears in her eyes. "That's Red for you. He's such a dork." She was not very surprised he would pull a stunt like that with Anna. Outing their relationship in one fell swoop.

The commentators come back on. "Well that was sure a surprise ending to that match, and I'm not just talking about Red's luck. So anyway, the final match we've all been waiting for is our World Champion Tom versus newcomer and true expert trainer, Red of Pallet Town. Still a huge hand to everyone who competed. Especially Anna. I haven't seen a match end like that in a very long time. No doubt she'll be someone to keep an eye on going forward." John commented.

"You got that right John, but now is the main event. We'll be taking a short intermission so Red and his team can recover and then we'll be getting onto the final match of this year's Pokemon World Tournament. Will Tom be able to keep his title or with it Red who reigns supreme? Stay tuned. You won't want to miss a second of it." Bob energetically announced.

Brendan looked over at Tia. "Your brother's really strong. Anna too, they both had good reason to be in the final match. Just a shame about Anna's luck."

Tia nodded, "I know, honestly I was favoring Red, because I've never seen Anna really go all out before. No wonder Tom has her on his radar."

"You on that radar too?" Brendan asked.

"He said he expects me to catch up quick, but he said he won't lose either. We're kind of rivals." Tia didn't want to brag since their rivalry was very lopsided.

Nel was giddy, "I'm so excited!" She was ready to jump out of her seat. "God, I just want to run out and get even stronger after this."

Colin nodded, "I know what you mean. It gets your blood pumping."

Tia made a suggestion, "How about after this we all go out and train together. Brendan and I could use the experience before out gym battle."

"That sounds like a great idea." Coby was on board.

The group all agreed and they waited patiently for the final match to begin. Finally, it was time. Red and Tom both took the stage. Tia wasn't going to make a call on this, but she figured Tom was the safe bet. Still, she wanted her brother to win.

Red and Tom exchange a few words, "I knew I'd be facing off with you from the beginning." Red commented.

"When I saw the pairings I had the same feeling. Then I saw Anna giving it her all. She's almost got you there." Tom retorted.

"Hey, at the end of the day I won. And I don't intend on losing to you now." Red smirked.

Tom did too, "You sound just like your sister. Well, good luck, and try not to cry when you lose."

"Ditto." Red called out his first choice. "Go Lapras!"

Tom started the same way he always did, with his Arcanine. One of his star Pokemon. Tia knew all about this Fire Type's incredibly speed and potential. Which is why Red had his star Lapras starting out. Still that in no way ensured him of an easy win. Arcanine's speed was second to none other than Tom's Flygon. This match was a true clash of titans. Both having shared the same title of Indigo League champion. This was a test of skill and status. Who was the true master on the battlefield?

Everyone was on the edges of their seats. Red's first major accomplishment was being able to successful take down Arcanine with just Lapras. Though heavy damage was sustained. Things shifted when Tom called out his Lucario. A Pokemon Tia had a brief encounter with. The back and forth continued quite a while. Each time one of them even had a slight lead it was quickly snatched back. Despite Tom being the world champion, Red still had him on the ropes for a while. Still, much like Tom's battle with Sabrina, once Flygon came out the tide of the battle shifted greatly. Although, Red anticipated this. Having his first Pokemon, his Charizard, waiting in the wings. Both side fought brutally, Red wasn't letting Flygon get too close or too far. They could tell both were borderline exhausted. Pokemon and trainers alike. This was going to be a battle of attrition more than anything. In the end, Red had the smallest slip up and Tom seized the chance and the win.

It was over, the crowd went wild. Tom walked over to Red and gave him a hand. "Well, looks like you were right about that World Tournament battle. You put up one heck of a fight." Tom complimented Red. "Next year it may be completely different."

Red smirked, "I never hold back in a battle. I'm happy to see that I could come so close to beating you. I think we should keep an eye on Anna though."

"She's not the only one." Tom pointed out.

Red nodded, "Right. Congratulations. World Champ." Tom and Red break the hand shake and Red humbly made his way off the stage.

The whole Pokemon center was in high spirits. Many glad to see Tom win. Still Red, garnered a lot of fans of his own. Everyone stuck around for the award ceremony. Tom was now the three-time World Champion. Red himself was award a silver trophy for second place. While Anna and Sabrina earned bronze, semifinalist medals.

That concluded this year's Pokemon World Tournament. Tia was psyched to continue her training now more than ever. Even Brendan was in high spirits after seeing his friend earn his third World Tournament win.

Before they went off to train though, Tia made a quick call on the center's PC. Red appeared on screen. Nel, Colin, and Coby huddled around Tia. Brendan stepped up as well. "Hey sis, what'd ya think of that last match."

"That was awesome Red! You and Tom were neck and neck the whole time it felt like." Tia was so excited to be able to talk to him after that match.

Red looked over and called people over. "Hey guys, guess who I'm talking with." Anna walked into frame, as well as Gary, Sabrina, Morty, Erika, and of course Tom. "Okay, this is starting to get a little crowded." Red fought them back as to not get smooshed.

"Hey Tia." Anna said cheerfully.

"Hey Anna, you did amazing out there. You all did. Gary, you really made Tom sweat." She winked.

"You're telling me." Tom still felt like he'd just completed an entire triathlon at this point.

Morty spoke up next, "You know we're all waiting or you now, right?"

"I know," Tia looked behind her at her star struck friends. "Right, everyone these are some friends I made watching the matches. Nel, Coby, and Colin. Also, Brendan for those of you who haven't met him before."

They were almost too stunned for words. "I feel like a celebrity now." Anna blushed modestly. "I would never in a million years thought I'd be here."

Tia argued her case, "Anna, you're like one of the best ones there. I would have just as easily seen you in the final match against Tom."

"Thanks Tia." Anna smiled wide.

Red checked his X-Transceiver, "It's great hearing from you, T, but Dad's calling. Good luck in Hoenn. Remember, you're not allowed to come home without the champion's title."

Tia chuckled, "Can do, later everyone one."

Everyone said goodbye and Red hung up. "Well that was an exciting call." Brendan commented, like he was immune to their stardom. Though, he did know Tom and Sabrina personally.

"I'll say." Tia turned to the others. "You all ready to go train?" They just continued staring blankly in bewilderment. "I'll take that as a yes." Tia got up and headed out of the Pokemon center with Brendan and the others close behind.

The World Tournament may have just ended, but Tia's climb to the top was still only beginning. She knew in her heart; she too would be standing on the world stage one day.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Man, this was a long one for sure. Still I had a lot of fun writing it. Now, I'm going to address some issues that have cropped up in the reviews and PMs. Yes, Anna has a Male Blissey. No, in game that is not possible. I thought it would be a unique trait if hers was male. If you really want to get technical, Tia's Tyranitar can't learn Avalanche outside of the fourth generation. I for the most part strictly adhere to the fifth generation mechanics in Tia's Tales and Shadow Destiny, but every now and then I take some creative liberties. Like Acid, being somewhat effective on a Steel Type, despite Steel Types being immune to it. At the end of the day Acid being acid makes sense that it would affect a Steel Type.<p> 


	85. Chapter 83: Teachable Moments

Chapter 83: Teachable Moments

The Super-Ancient Pokemon collided in a world altering battle for supremacy that quite literally shaped the world man and Pokemon alike share.

Tia and Brendan trained with Nel, Coby, and Colin well into the evening. Tia was so excited by the PWT that she'd completely forgotten about the time while they trained. As a result, they trained pretty much until the sun set. Which meant the gym was now closed. So the two would have to come back again in the morning.

Tia woke first as she usually did and was already meditating when Brendan got up. While he waited for Tia to mentally prepare he took the opportunity to get cleaned up and ready for the day. As he did, Brendan gave himself a good hard look in the mirror. He felt confident in himself, but at the same time he had no idea what the gym would hold. Could he win?

Brendan tried his best to push out any negativity, but it was eating at him and he couldn't help it. It was just pre-battle jitters he told himself. It was his first gym battle so he'll be fine. It's normal to be nervous. He bet if he asked Tia she'd tell him the same thing.

Brendan decided to. Once he was finished Tia was as well. No surprise, she was raring to go. "Hey Tia." He broached the subject.

"What's up?" Tia asked while doing some final touches to gel up her red hair.

"Were you nervous before your first gym battle?" Brendan felt embarrassed even asking that.

Tia stopped to think about it. "No, not at all." Tia smiled. Brendan didn't seem to thrilled with this answer. Tia continued though, "I was too naïve to be nervous. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I would have lost if it weren't for Tom basically spoon feeding me the answer. You're nothing like I was Brendan. You actually stop and think before running into a situation." Tia paused, "Okay, I'm getting better about it." She confessed.

This got a laugh out of him, "Thanks Tia, I'm sure you'll win no problem."

"Just remember, win or lose, it doesn't matter as long as you do your best." Tia tried giving some sound advice, but even she had to admit it sounded pretty clichéd and cheesy. Brendan appreciated the thought nonetheless.

The two got packed up and ready to go. Their Pokemon were all healed up and they made sure to stock up on items just in case they needed them. An extra Potion or two if they so needed. Then it was off to the gym. Much like the morning before, the streets were already filled with people. Nel and the others already left for Dewford instead of staying the night. So they were probably on a boat en route for the island. Otherwise they would have probably been up and on their way as well.

Although the time for Pokemon gyms was pretty universal, Tia and Brendan were surprised to see a notice on the gym doors. Tia groaned, "What do you mean, doesn't open until Noon?" She glared at the piece of paper as if it were going to respond.

Brendan read on, "Says here that Roxanne teaches classes at the Pokemon Academy in the morning. If anyone wishes to reach her, her office hours are eight to Noon. She's just across the street then." Brendan looked at the clock, it was a little past ten now.

Tia and Brendan spotted the Pokemon academy. It wasn't a really large building by any means, just one story in size. The building looked fairly new, while fitting the general décor of the rest of the city. Tia and Brendan walked up to it and let themselves in without anyone saying otherwise.

Inside was a sizeable classroom with several rows of desks and students occupying the seats. The front of the class was a single teacher's desk and a few blackboards lining the wall. The students listen attentively until they heard the door opening. The students were all children younger than ten years old. So none of them could get their trainer's license

The teacher continued speaking uninterrupted. "And those are the various status conditions Pokemon can be afflicted with." She looked back to Tia and Brendan with a smile. "How may I help you two today?" She spoke so professionally and so properly. She wore a black and deep gray dress with pink leggings and a match bow in her Taupe hair. She looked and acted like a teacher and an adult, despite looking younger than both Tia and Brendan.

Tia answered, "Yes, you see, I'm Tia and this is Brendan. We're here to challenge the gym."

Roxanne gave a slight frown, not angry or irritated, but more disappointed. "I had a feeling, but if you read the sign then you know my hours of operation at the gym are strictly Noon to eight in the evening. I do apologize. If you wish to stay for the lesson then you are more than welcome, but I will not interrupt my class with a gym battle." Roxanne was very disciplined, it's easy to see how she was so respected despite her age.

Tia turned red, "Sorry ma'am." She quietly took a seat. "_Ma'am?_" Tia quickly pulled out her guide book of Hoenn. "_It says here she's only fifteen years old._" Tia whispered to Brendan.

"Alright class, next we're going to talk about types of Pokemon. So who wants to name a type?" She opened the floor to her students to answer. One little boy raised his hand, "Yes Bobby?"

"Bug Types." He was excited to answer.

"Very good, anyone else?" Roxanne praised his answer and scanned the room. "Lily?" She called out sweetly.

"There are the plant Types like Oddish." She incorrectly labelled them.

"Yes Oddish does look like a plant, but remember they are called Grass Types." Roxanne very calmly educated her on the correct nomenclature. She scanned the room once more, "How about you, Tia?" She blindsided Tia, whom didn't even raise her hand.

Tia paused for a moment. "Dragon Types." She reluctantly played along.

Roxanne nodded, "Very good. Now can you name a Dragon Type Pokemon?" Dragon Types were of course known as some of the strongest Pokemon around. So she wanted to see how much Tia knew about them.

"I don't know? Flygon." She threw out the first Dragon Type that came to mind.

"Yes, Flygon is a very strong Pokemon. Doesn't anyone know what makes Flygon so different from other Dragon Types?" Roxanne was acting like Tia was on the same level as the children who've never even been in a Pokemon battle before.

Brendan raised his hand. "Flygon's dual typed. It's part Dragon and part Ground Type. It is also the signature Pokemon of the current world champion."

"_Teacher's pet._" Tia sneered.

"Very good, you sure know a lot about Pokemon, Brendan." Roxanne continued treating Brendan no different from the kids. "Who here watched the Pokemon World Tournament yesterday?" Everyone immediately raised their hand. Even Tia and Brendan. "It was very exciting wasn't it? Who were some of your favorite trainers?"

One kid raised his hand, "Tom's the best trainer ever!"

"Red was so cool!"

"I want to grow up and be like Anna." One of the girls replied.

Tia giggled, she wondered how Anna would respond to such praise? Well, being a gym leader, Tia figured Anna probably got idolized by a lot of younger trainers.

"We haven't heard from you two." Roxanne opened the floor for them to Tia and Brendan.

Brendan answered first, "Well, I grew up in Littleroot so Tom and I are friends." Brendan would of course favor his friend. That and Elesa wasn't able to get into the final eight.

Tia answered as well, "My brother, Red."

The kid looked back at the two like they were celebrities. Roxanne raised a brow. "Your brother? Interesting, so you actually knew some of the people competing."

Tia nodded, "Red's my twin brother. Gary and I grew up together. Tom's one of my best friends. Anna, Sabrina, Morty, and Erika are all good friends too. I travelled with Tom for a while back in Kanto and Johto." Tia explained.

"So you're from Pallet Town like your brother, I assume?" Tia confirmed this to Roxanne. She then closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "Tia. Tia. Yes, I remember Winona mentioning a trainer she met in Violet City named Tia. She was impressed by your battle with Falkner." Tia beamed with pride that a gym leader from Hoenn talked about her skills as a trainer. "She also said you were still a bit of a diamond in the rough."

Tia chuckled nervously, "Yeah, but that was then and this now." Much has changed in that time.

Roxanne pondered herself for a moment as her pointer tapped against her cheek. "Here's an idea, class. We were going to watch some videos on some demonstration matches, but you two want a gym battle. So how's about we head for the gym and let the children witness a real life gym battle?"

The whole room cheered, the kids loved the idea. "I like the sound of this." Tia was satisfied.

"Alright kids, we're taking a field trip over to the gym. Clean up your supplies and get in line at the door." The kids dutifully cleaned up and lined up in two straight lines, boys and girls. Roxanne knew how to discipline them for sure. She was hardly ten years older than most of the kids in there, but they still respected her like an adult.

The waited patiently for the teacher. Even Brendan, who stood at the end of the boy's line. "Tia, you're not in line." Tia was patiently standing off to the side.

"Brendan, I am seventeen years old. I am not stand in line just because some girl younger than me told me to." Tia stood firm in this belief.

Roxanne walked up and shook her head, "I'm sorry class, but we can't leave yet, because not everyone is standing in line like their supposed to." Everyone immediately turned to Tia.

"Really? You're really doing this?" Tia was cornered. She wasn't one to disrespect authority, but this wasn't even her class and Roxanne sure wasn't her teacher.

"I never joking around young lady." Roxanne was steadfast in her rules.

"I'm older than you!" Tia couldn't help feel almost small in Roxanne's presence. She was confident and strict. While still fair and patient. It was admirable and more than a little bizarre to Tia.

"My class, my rules." Roxanne stood firm. Tia rolled her eyes and took her place at the back of the girl's line. "Alright class, now stick close together." She opened the door and guided the class to the gym.

"_Totalitarian shrew._" Tia sneered under her breath.

"Were you always this difficult in school?" Brendan had to ask.

"No, because my teachers were older than me and treated me like my age." Tia knew Roxanne had to be doing it to get a rise out of her.

"Oh just play along. Okay?" Brendan certainly was playing the part.

They step into the rock themed gym. The interior perfectly encapsulated everything the gym stood for. It was solid and build with many different types of rock and stone work. The stone motif was worked into everything from the rocky terrain on the battlefield to the stone bleachers.

"Alright children, take your seats in the first two rows please." Roxanne turned to Tia and Brendan. "Now which one of you is going first?"

Brendan stepped forward, "That'd be me, ma'am." This was already agreed upon and Tia was fine letting him go first.

"Alright, make your way to that end of the arena and we'll begin." Roxanne pointed to one end of the gym. "The rules of a Pokemon match against a gym leader are simple. The gym leader and trainer will battle in a one-on-one match until either side is unable to battle or the challenger chooses to forfeit. Only the trainer is allowed to switch out Pokemon. As well, if the challenger is able to defeat the gym leader they will be awarded the Stone Badge as proof of their victory. You may now choose your first Pokemon." Roxanne got all the formalities out of the way more for the childrens' sake than Brendan or Tia's.

"Alright, I think we should finally give Ralts a proper gym battle." Brendan's first choice was Ralts, even though Wingull or Treecko would have been the smarter choices. Still, no sense in not letting Ralts get some practice in. Especially against a gym leader.

Ralts emerged and looked around. "Yay, I get to battle!" She cheered.

Roxanne raised a brow when she heard this. "Your Ralts is telepathic. That's very unique. This will be a fun battle and a most interesting one." Roxanne called out her first Pokemon. "Go Geodude." Roxanne called out a tried and true Rock Type. All the kids knew what a Geodude was. "I'll allow you the first move."

"Alright Ralts use Confusion." This was the appropriate call. Gauge the enemy's defenses and see how they will respond.

"Geodude, use Defense Curl." Geodude stood strong and crossed its arms to bolster its defenses. This was of course useless against Confusion, but Roxanne was playing for the long game it seemed. "Alright Geodude, Rock Tomb." Roxanne's signature move. All her gym Pokemon were equipped with it.

Brendan needed to act quick. The rocks were coming. Should he persist with Confusion and hope the extra damage will be worth taking the hit or should he try and dodge it? The choices were Brendan's critical weak point. He knew Tia would have a plan ready like that.

Which she did. Tia was already playing it out in her mind. Ralts using Double Team to evade the rocks and following up with another Confusion. No sense in trying to go for broke.

Still Brendan wasn't on the same wavelength. He finally decided on going for Confusion. At the cost of a large amount of damage to Ralts. Brendan winced. "You need to respond quickly in a battle, Brendan." Roxanne pointed out.

Her advice was true and definitely struck home, but it didn't make Brendan feel any better. "_Crap. I shouldn't keep Ralts out like this._" He thought of his next move. Roxanne patiently waiting until Brendan realized no one else would break the flow of battle like this. Anyone else and he would have lost Ralts already. "Return!" He quickly called Ralts back and went for his Wingull. "Water Gun."

"Geodude, dive left." Wingull's Water Gun propelled forward, but Geodude was still a bit faster. "Rock Tomb!"

"Supersonic!" Brendan commanded.

"No!" Tia shouted in anguish.

Brendan looked over to Tia and then back to Wingull. Wingull was quickly pummeled by rocks. Poor thing wasn't fast enough to even get Supersonic off. Brendan clenched his fist and called out Treecko.

Tia sat back and closed her eyes. She knew Treecko could win. Treecko could very easily win. She would lead in with a Quick Attack to get in close and stay close. From there it was a matter of absorbing the health from it.

Brendan started off strong though. He went right for the Absorb, followed up with a Quick Attack. Geodude tried getting Rock Tomb off, but the speed from Quick Attack gave Treecko the advantage to run right through it. Once Treecko dodged the rocks Brendan got another Absorb to finish off Geodude.

Roxanne grinned, "Your Treecko is strong. He's been trained well." It was about the only compliment she could earnestly give him at the moment. "Go Nosepass." She sent out her last Pokemon. "Tackle, Nosepass!" Nosepass lunged forward. Using its colossal nose as a ram.

"Treecko, Absorb!" Treecko took the brunt of the assault and recovered swiftly. "Pound!" Brendan felt the momentum now.

"Harden!" Roxanne was still quicker though. Nosepass's whole body became much sturdier. This allowed it to absorb a large amount of the damage. "Rock Tomb."

"Pound again!" Brendan retaliated. Tia sunk her head in her hands. She couldn't watch. Brendan was struggling under the pressure. The obvious play was to Quick Attack out of the way and follow into one last Absorb.

Still, Brendan was adamant about getting the damage in with a full frontal assault. Treecko took quite a beating, but he still stood. "Absorb!" Brendan didn't care. He was yelling out a command blindly. Not even caring for how Roxanne was going to respond.

She said nothing. The Absorb would do it and the odds of her Nosepass attacking quicker were slim at this point. Nosepass had the last of its health sapped way and that marked the end of the match. "Congratulations Brendan. You won." She said with a warm smile.

Still, this didn't feel like a win. He felt like an idiot. He caved under pressure. The overwhelming type advantage was the only thing that got him the win. Regardless, Brendan put on a brave face and accepted his gym badge. "Thank you for the battle Roxanne."

She nodded, "You as well. Keep training hard. You'll find it gets a lot easier the more you do it." She winked. She looked over at Tia. "Looks like it is your turn Tia."

Tia smiled and hopped over the divider and onto the battlefield. "I can't wait."

Roxanne walked back and grabbed two fresh Pokeballs. "Alright, you know the rules."

Tia put a hand up. "I actually have one request."

"Request?" Roxanne was intrigued to hear it.

Tia reached for the Pokeballs holstered to her belt. Holding one in her left and tossing the other into her right. "I just learned about this format and I want to try it out. So I challenge you to a double battle."

The whole class gasped. Roxanne gave a prim chuckle and nodded, "Very well, a double battle it is. Watch carefully kids. This is a very special format. One that takes a lot of trial and effort to perfect." Roxanne called out another Geodude and Nosepass.

Tia smiled, "Mudkip. Shroomish." Tia was confident. She knew she could do this easily. Still Roxanne knew not to hold back. "Unlike Brendan, you know this isn't my first gym battle."

Brendan sunk his head a little. Tia didn't mean to offend him. She didn't even realize she did.

Roxanne still gave off an air of superiority. "I should expect a lot of you then. Please don't disappoint."

"Mudkip use Water Gun. Shroomish flank left." Mudkip stood his ground and went for a Water Gun straight down the middle while Shroomish ran to the left.

"Dodge you two, then give me a Defense Curl Geodude. Nosepass Rock Tomb on that Shroomish." The two had essentially two simultaneous battle at the moment. Thankfully, Geodude was building its defenses so Tia could shift focus to Shroomish.

"Serpentine Shroomish. Don't worry about attacking just yet. Mudkip give Nosepass a Mud-Slap." This was an unconventional move on Tia's part. An already bulky Nosepass would hardly be phased by such an attack. Still that was the beauty in Tia's strategy.

"Nosepass use Harden. Geodude Rock Tomb Mudkip." Roxanne shifted her priorities to the larger threat.

"You sure about that? Stun Spore, Shroomish." Shroomish sprayed spores on Geodude causing it to slow down and seize up. Mudkip shot mud in Nosepass's face and quickly ran. "Good Mudkip. Now run around the perimeter."

Geodude carried out the Rock Tomb, but Mudkip now had the speed factor on his side. "Nosepass Rock Tomb Mudkip." Nosepass flailed wildly and rotated without direction. It was at this point Roxanne noticed what happened. "That Mud-Slap. You had Mudkip spray its face so it couldn't see."

"That's right. Now Water Gun to Nosepass's back. Shroomish use Absorb on Geodude." The first real attacks of the match and they were very powerful. Tia and her Pokemon were in perfect sync.

They were on an entirely different level from Brendan. She was confident and quick witted in battle. Brendan had to think of a strategy on the fly and he cracked under the pressure. Tia did it so seamlessly that one would think she had every step planned out from the beginning. Tia had such a commanding presence in battle. Roxanne couldn't even touch her. This was Tia's first, solo double battle none the less too.

"Geodude, Nosepass. Focus and use Rock Tomb to bury them." Roxanne was fired up and determined to make this attack count.

Tia had a different plan in mind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Time froze in her mind. She could see everyone. Her team, Roxanne and her Pokemon, Brendan, the kids. Their Ki burned in her mind. She saw Mudkip's flair most of all. Tia opened her eyes and focused exclusively on Mudkip. "Mudkip. Full power. Water Gun!"

Mudkip felt a huge burst of energy as his body began to surge with energy. His Ki and Tia's bonding. This was enough to trigger something deep inside Mudkip. His whole body began to glow a luminescent blue. Mudkip's four legged figure grew and became bi-pedal. The light flashed and in Mudkip's place stood a Marshtomp. Marshtomp pumped his arms and fired a huge Water Gun that completely enveloped Geodude and Nosepass.

All the kids went wild when Marshtomp's high powered Water Gun blew Roxanne's Pokemon away. That was the match. Tia won. Decisively. Roxanne looked stunned for a moment. She regained her composure with a smile. "The winner is Tia. That was an excellent match."

Tia walked up and gave Roxanne a firm hand shake before collecting her gym badge. "Thank you, Roxanne. That was a lot of fun." Brendan stepped down from the bleachers and walked over to them.

"Before you go, this is a prize for beating the gym." She handed them two discs. "These are TM39, Rock Tomb. Maybe you'll find a use for them. Your Marshtomp might really like it." Roxanne next turned to her class. "That will be all for today children. Class is dismissed. I hope you all learned a lot today." She said with a proud smile.

Tia and Brendan made their way out as well. "Thanks again Roxanne." Tia waved goodbye.

Roxanne did the same and pulled out her X-Transceiver as they left. "Yes, Winona?"

"Roxanne, it's been a while. How are you?" Winona was on the other end of the line in Fortree City.

"I'm doing well, but that's not why I'm calling. I had a very interesting battle with a girl named Tia today." Roxanne said with a coy smile.

"Oh? Is it the same girl?" Winona asked, having a feeling the answer was pretty obvious.

"Fiery red hair, never say die attitude, and all." Roxanne declared.

"Red hair? _Well that's new. _So how was the battle?" Winona had to know.

"Your description of her battle hardly does her justice. She's far more experienced now. She's also travelling with Brendan Birch." Roxanne put two and two together when Brendan mentioned living in Littleroot and remembering Prof. Birch had a son by that name.

"Was he just as good?" Winona's curiosity was definitely piqued now.

Surprisingly, Roxanne nodded, "Yes, unfortunately he's yet to realize it." Roxanne, as a teacher, had an uncanny ability to see everyone's true potential. It was a gift teachers had.

"Thank you for the update. I look forward to hearing more. Have a nice day Roxanne."

"You as well." They hung up and reflecting. Roxanne, mostly on Brendan.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Initially I didn't know how to handle this part. I was possibly going to do two chapters with both getting a chance to shine, but the first gym is always the quickest so I consolidated them. I threw in Tia's idea for a double battle so it would feel stale or repetitive. Overall, I was very happy with this one. Roxanne was a lot of fun to write. Especially with Tia's reactions.<p> 


	86. Chapter 84: Double Threat

Chapter 84: Double Threat

The ocean rampaged in a swell of anger and violence. It's vicious thrashing cut away at the earth. Its tidal fury pulverized the land.

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><p>Tia and Brendan, fresh off their respective victories healed up their Pokemon and exited the Pokemon Center. "All healed up and ready to go." Tia stretched her arms.<p>

"What's next? Stick around town a bit longer? Head back South to the dock and catch a ferry to Dewford?" Brendan thought of their options.

"Stop! Thief!" A familiar shout of a distraught man cried out.

"Or we could get to the bottom of that." Tia and Brendan both ran off to the sound of the man in peril. The cries came from Devon Corp's Headquarters. The familiar sight of a certain scientist is distress caught their attention immediately. "It's you again. What happened here?"

The man tried his best to keep his composure, "Some guy took the parts I was holding onto!" He pointed to a dark skinned man with a white and blue striped outfit and black bandana on.

"Is he with Team Magma?" Brendan asked.

The scientist shook his head, "No, he said he was claiming those parts in the name of Team Aqua."

Tia growled, "We don't have time to talk!" Tia tore off after the thief. She didn't care who he was with. She was getting those parts back. All she needed to hear was Team and Tia was angry.

Brendan reassured the man, "Don't worry, we'll get the parts back." He chased after Tia. Though Brendan could hardly keep up with her. Tia was really quickly gaining on the Team Aqua grunt.

He looked back, "Where did you come from?" He shouted as he tried to increase his pace. By this point the two were out of town and running through Route 116.

Tia shouted back, "Drop the part or this will get ugly for you!"

The grunt saw his out. He started ducking and weaving through the trees as he drew closer to the Rusturf Cave. If he could duck into the cave he could quickly hide among the rocks and shadows and hopefully give Tia the slip. "You'll never stop Team Aqua!" He ran head long into the cave.

Tia suddenly came to a halt. "Damn!" She made sure no one else saw her. Tia looked back and saw Brendan running on down the way.

"Tia! Where did he go?" Brendan stopped to catch his breath. Weezing and gasping for air the whole time.

"He went in the cave. I looked inside, but he'd given me the slip." Tia lied through her teeth. "Go in there and see if you can't get him. I'll wait out here just in case he tries to sneak out." Her plan was to smoke out the grunt. Without going in herself of course.

"Are you sure? What if I have to battle him?" Brendan wasn't exactly feeling confident about this. What if he did lose and couldn't retrieve the parts.

Tia put a hand on his shoulder, "Brendan. You can do it. Now go in that cave and get those parts back." Because Tia sure as hell wasn't.

Brendan nodded, "Thank you, Tia." He stormed in after the grunt.

Tia quickly let out an exasperated sighed, "Holy crap that was close. Thank god, I didn't have to go in there. Nothing good ever happens in caves." Tia trembled just thinking about it. She hated feeling so helpless, but her speluncaphobia got the better of her yet again.

Brendan with a renewed vigor ran into the cave and shouted for the grunt. "Get out here, I know you're in here!" The sounds of rumbling echoed through the cave. It started as a slow rumble and quickly became a huge series of crashes.

It could be heard clear as day from outside. Tia was curled up in a ball thinking about the last time she was caught in a cave in. She attempted to find her happy place while cursing her crippling fear of caves.

Brendan followed the source of the noise and found the grunt. "Crap, it wasn't supposed to blow until I'd passed it. Stupid detonator!" He stomped on a small device with a large button on it. Destroying it completely. He turned around and hoped to sneak back out of the cave. He froze when he saw Brendan staring him down, Pokeball in hand. "You. You were with that other punk kid." The grunt called out his Poochyena.

Brendan called out Treecko, "End of the line, buddy. Hand over the parts and we can end this peacefully." Brendan hoped to come off as tough, but the grunt wasn't biting.

He scoffed, "Yeah, like I'd be afraid of some kid and a Treecko. Poochyena use Bite!"

Poochyena bore its fangs and bit into Treecko's arm. Wincing from the pain, Treecko trying shaking it off. "Treecko use Pound." Brendan took advantage of Poochyena's close proximity. Treecko swung his arm wide. Loosening Poochyena's bite and setting Treecko's arm free. In the process Treecko spun around and slammed into Poochyena with a Pound from his tail.

Poochyena slid back, but kept strong and went in for another Bite. "Bite that Treecko into submission." Poochyena's fangs began glowing as they sharpened and readied an attack.

"Pound again!" Brendan had Treecko mimic his last attack. Treecko swung and swatted Poochyena away, but the grunt expected as much. Poochyena bit down tight on Treecko's tail. Sending shooting pain through Treecko's body. The damage was far more substantial and critical. Brendan had to think fast. What would Tia do? Shaking it off wouldn't be effective enough. Brendan had it. "Treecko work through the pain. Use Absorb." Treecko couldn't possibly miss this one. Taking a direct hit, Poochyena's health was sapped away from it.

No matter how much the Bite hurt, Treecko could constantly syphon energy from Poochyena until it eventually fainted. "Let go Poochyena!" The grunt had his Pokemon back off.

"Perfect. Now Treecko. Climb those rocks and use Pound." Treecko ran for a large cluster of fallen rocks and scaled them. In a surprising twist Treecko jumped off of the rocks and did a front flip in the air. His glowing tail aimed right for Poochyena's head as Treecko dive bombed the grunt's Pokemon.

"No! Poochyena!" The grunt called back his Pokemon and bolted again.

"Get back here you, thief!" Brendan called back Treecko and gave chase once more.

"You'll never stop me!" He ran for the entry to the cave. He quickly glimpsed at the cave entrance and back at Brendan. Yelling back. "No one can stop Team – Ugh." His throat suddenly connects with Tia's left arm. Close lining him and knock him off his feet.

"That's how we do it!" Tia cheered and pumped her arm. Brendan ran up, "Great job Brendan." Tia high fived Brendan and proceeded to grab the grunt by the scruff. "So now are you going to talk?" Tia asked menacingly.

"Please don't kill me?" He begged for his life.

Tia dropped him. "Why do people keep saying that?"

Brendan offered a possible answer. "Maybe it's because you're loud and aggressive? Plus, you reinforce pretty much every stereotype people have about you red heads."

Tia frowns, "Hey, this is hair dye." She pointed to her head, "I naturally have black hair." Tia felt the need to correct Brendan on her hair and nothing else.

"Either way," he looked back down at the grunt. Brendan took the briefcase with the parts in them and let Tia handle the grunt. "Let's get this guy to the police. Then drop these off with Devon Corp."

They headed back into town with the Team Aqua grunt being practically dragged by Tia. They swing by the station and hand him over to the authorities and go next to the Devon Corps. HQ. There the scientist waited. Hoping for their return.

"You've returned with my parts!" He was overjoyed. "Please, come in. I want to tell my boss all about you two." He quickly escorted them up to the top floor of the HQ. "Mr. President. These two trainers got the parts back. They also helped me before in the woods."

An older man with white hair in a nice, blue, pin-stripe suit stood up from his desk. "Wonderful news!" He walked over and personally shook both their hands. "And whom do we owe our thanks to?" He asked happily.

"Tia, sir."

"Brendan Birch, sir." They replied somewhat nervously. He was the company's president so they wanted to make sure they were respectful.

"Tia, and Brendan Birch?" He looked at Brendan closely. "You wouldn't happen to be the son of Professor Birch would you?"

Brendan nodded, "Yes Mr. President."

He grinned from ear-to-ear. "Wonderful to meet you both. My name is Joseph Stone. I run this here company. You got us out of quite a predicament. Those thieves almost made off with very valuable parts that would have made our latest project impossible to complete without. You have our thanks." He hands them both two contains. Both holding six Ultra Balls.

"Wow thanks Mr. Stone!" Tia was very surprised. Those were not cheap by any means compared to other Pokeballs.

"Yeah thanks a lot." Brendan definitely knew he'd find a use for those in the future.

"I thought you'd like those. Now, since you're both trainers am I correct in assuming you're competing in the Pokemon league?" Mr. Stone asked with a coy smile.

"Yeah." Tia answered for both of them.

"Perfect, then you're next heading for Dewford Island?" Tia nodded once more. "Then I have one small favor. If it's not a problem. You see my son; Steven is on Dewford examining some ancient glyphs. I was hoping you two could be so kind as to deliver this letter to him?" A simple request.

Brendan took the letter. "Not a problem Mr. Stone."

"Yeah, I kind of want to meet Steven myself. Since he is the champion of this region and all." Tia winked.

Mr. Stone laughed, "That's the spirit. Thank you both." With those parting words, Tia and Brendan showed themselves out.

"That was pretty awesome Mr. Stone gave us all these Ultra Balls." Tia spun one on her finger.

Brendan nodded, "Sure is." Brendan was happy to help, but he felt off somehow. Like even though he beat the grunt and Roxanne, Brendan still felt like it was a hollow victory. He still had to think, what would Tia do in his situation. It felt more like a fluke then his own skills as a trainer.

"So want to head to the dock we passed by the other day and head for Dewford Island?" Tia proposed.

Brendan paused for a moment. "Actually, could we stay in town a little longer? Maybe head out tomorrow?"

Tia gave Brendan concerned look. "Yeah…" She paused, "Hey, Brendan. Is everything alright?"

Brendan nodded, "Yeah, I just need to think a little bit. By myself."

"Okay, but if you need to talk I'll listen." Tia offered. "Otherwise, I'll be back at the Pokemon Center."

"Thanks, but I just need to be alone right now." He walked off trying not to look too upset. Really Brendan just need to clear his head. He knew he had a long way to go, but he also was uncertain about so many things. He finally decided to become a trainer on a whim. What if it was already too late for him? He chokes during battles and he barely beat the first gym leader. How much harder would the second gym leader be by comparison? Did he still want to compete? Especially when he knew Tia was so much better than him.

Brendan walked aimlessly around before his stomach started growling. Thankfully he'd happened across a café completely by accident. Brendan shrugged and walked in. It wasn't too busy inside. He wasn't sure if he should wait or seat himself. He did look at what they had food wise and it made him even hungrier.

Before he could make a move the door opened behind him and he heard a familiar voice. "Brendan?" He turned and there stood Roxanne.

"Oh hey Roxanne." He tried being casual, but still sounded a bit awkward.

"I'm surprised to see you still in town. I figure you and Tia would have been off to Dewford Island by this point." Roxanne started up friendly chit-chat.

"I kind of wanted to see more of the city. Then I got hungry." He had to make up an excuse. The hungriness being the truth of course, but he couldn't admit to what he was really feeling.

Roxanne let out a soft giggle, "Well, you've come to the right place. The food here is wonderful. I'm actually on my lunch break, would you mind sitting with me?" Roxane actually asked Brendan to sit with her.

Brendan was a bit surprised, "Yeah, I don't mind. Thanks for the offer." He followed Roxanne to a window side booth. Roxanne looked prim and proper as usual, but she seemed more relaxed now as well. Brendan had to admit in this light Roxanne was pretty cute.

While Brendan and Roxanne were having lunch, Tia was addressing more pressing matters. She had started returning to the Pokemon Center. Something was bothering her though. She knew exactly what. She pulled out her X-Transceiver and started dialing.

"Hello?" A guy's voice answered.

"Hey Tom. I needed to talk to you." Tia said cautiously.

"You do? Hey, I'm sorry Tia, but I'm kind of swamped with work right now. Can this wait?" There was the distinct sound of paper's shuffling in the background.

"No, this can't wait." Tia said more stoically.

The rustling stopped, "What's the problem?" Tom sounded more serious as well.

"We ran into some people trying to steal from Devon Corp." Tia gave Tom a quick rundown of the past couple days.

"Who were these people?"

Tia shook her head, hating she had to say it. "I don't know. They just said they worked for Team Magma and Team Aqua. Tom, I don't know what's going on, but there are two more groups cropping up here in Hoenn."

Tom groaned, "Of course, it's bad enough we have to deal with small remnants of Team Rocket running around and Team Cipher. Now these two?" Tom had to make the hard call. "Tia I'm sorry. My hands are tied. I can't leave and come help you. Even as X. I'm already in hot water because of that." Part of growing up for Tom was finally accepting he couldn't just do whatever he wanted anymore.

"Then what do we do?" Tia began to panic.

"Calm down. I'll put out a notice issued to all the gym leaders and Elite Four members in Hoenn to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. As for stopping them. Well, they're already in trouble. They've got to deal with you." Tom chuckled.

The joke did at least get a smile out of Tia. "Thanks Tom."

"Keep me posted."

"Will do." Tia hung up and made her way back to the center. Realizing she'd meandered quite away from the center while talking to Tom. She looked around to get her bearings when she noticed two figures sitting in front of a window at a local café. Tia smiled, "_Think by yourself huh? You should have just said so Brendan._" Tia misconstrued the situation. She quickly walked off before either of them saw her.

From the café Brendan and Roxanne were carrying on light conversation while waiting for their food. "So what made you become a teacher and a gym leader?" Brendan asked.

"Well originally my father was the gym leader, but he'd retired to build the school. It was his dream to have a full Pokemon Academy. So he is the headmaster. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a teacher. I loved Pokemon too. When my father left, the gym didn't have a leader so it bounced between temporary leaders for a few years before I was old enough and qualified enough to take over. Once the school got off the ground I applied to teach there on the side as well." Roxanne had a very busy life full of plenty of responsibilities.

"Wow, that's pretty incredible ma'am." Brendan was certainly impressed.

Roxanne blushed, "Brendan, we're not in the school. Just call me, Roxanne. You're older than me anyway." She shyly averted her gaze. This made her even more endearing.

Brendan chuckled, "Sorry, you just act so mature for your age." Their food arrived and the two briefly stopped talking.

Roxanne broke the ice this time. "So do you want to be a professor like your father?"

Brendan nodded, "Definitely. Pokemon have always fascinated me. I just never felt right being a trainer though. Even now." He put down his silverware and rested a hand on the table. "Honestly, I lucked out against you. Even with type advantage you crushed my team."

Roxanne set down her utensils as well and slowly rested her hand on top of Brendan's. He looked a little embarrassed. Roxanne staring right into his eyes didn't alleviate this feeling either. "Brendan, you don't give yourself enough credit. You have the makings of a great trainer." Roxanne stated it like it was a fact.

"I appreciate it Roxanne, but I mean come on. You're an incredible trainer." Now both their cheeks were flaring. "Tia's on entirely different level from both of us too. Could I ever even come close to being as good as you two?" Brendan had been asking himself this question all day.

Roxanne shook her head, "Of course we're better. We've been doing this longer. Brendan it takes time. It is hard for everyone in the beginning. I know it was for me. I know you can get better. You just have to believe in yourself." Roxanne's word really hit home with Brendan.

He paused and slowly turned his hand so Roxanne's fingers rest on his palm. His thumb slowly ran over them. He looked down and then back up to her eyes. "Thanks Roxanne. That means a lot coming from you." He gave her a genuine smile and resumed eating with his other hand.

Roxanne felt her heart racing as Brendan held her hand. "You're welcome Brendan. I'm glad I could help." Her cheeks burned as she looked away in embarrassment. The two finished up their meal. They headed out, but Roxanne wished the hand holding would have lasted just a bit longer. It was no use though. She couldn't hold his hand in public. To her it almost felt scandalous. "So did you always study Pokemon when you were a kid?" Roxanne felt a bit more comfortable and asked Brendan more about himself.

Brendan nodded, "Yeah I would play with wild Zigzagoon. Tom and I would play together a lot. He always said he'd be the greatest trainer ever. Guess I can't tease him about that one. My friend May would always put on shows too. She loved watching Pokemon contests. I guess that why I love photograph. She'd dress up and I'd pretend to take picture of her. Then I got my first camera."

Roxanne was intrigued now, "You're a photographer?"

Brendan produced his camera. "Sure am. Here, I want to get a picture of you." He had Roxanne pose while he lined up the shot. "Smile." He took the picture and examined it. "Perfect." He made sure the picture really captured her smile. Roxanne came to look at the shot. "I bet you have guys falling all over you." Brendan chuckled.

Roxanne looked confused. "Why do you think that? Not a lot of boys come by the guy or talk with me."

"Really? A girl as cute as you?" Brendan intended this as an offhand compliment, but he felt like he himself even meant something behind it.

Roxanne stammered, "You think I'm cute?"

"I mean in a platonic way." He tried to recover.

"Of course. Yes. Since we are friends." She explained.

Saying things like that was normal for Brendan, but something felt _not _normal. Not bad, but different. He was starting to see why.

Roxanne pulled out a scrap of paper and started scribbling on it. "Here, since we're friends and all. Why not keep in touch?" She wrote down her number and gave it to Brendan.

Brendan looked at the small scrap of paper. She'd written it in cute hand writing with a little heart next to her name. The red ink was even a cute touch too. Brendan smiled. He placed his hand on Roxanne's palm, leaned forward, and kissed Roxanne on the cheek. In one motion he took the paper and leaned back. "Thanks Roxanne. For everything. I'll call you when I get to Dewford Island."

She took frozen. She covered her burning cheeks with her hands and looked down nervously. "You…you're welcome Brendan. If you're even in town again. Please stop by." Her confident bravado melted away. Brendan was shaking like a leaf, but he did his best to hide it.

He smiled, "It's a date."

Brendan walked off and returned to the Pokemon Center. He'd managed to regain his composure, but he fidgeted with his X-Transceiver to get Roxanne's number in. He placed her at the top of his speed dial list.

Tia was ready and waiting. She saw Brendan walking in. "You ready Romeo?" She teased.

"What?" Brendan tried to play it cool.

Tia winked, "Brendan, your cheeks are red as my hair. You've got those Lillipup eyes. Plus, a piece of paper that says Roxanne with a little heart and what I'm guessing is her number."

Brendan pouted, "Go ahead, get your shots in. I can take it."

Tia giggled, "Please, I'm not going to tease you. Good for you." She patted him on the back. "Come on, we can still get to the dock before sundown." Tia and Brendan raced off to their next destination and Tia's next gym badge in Dewford Island. There were plenty of exciting adventures still to come.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. I really enjoyed writing Roxanne in the chapter and overall. I wish I had more chances to put her into the series honestly. Giving her more character really made the whole first gym badge mini-arc feel a lot more alive. Now it's off to Dewford Island.<p> 


	87. Chapter 85: Cave of Mystery

Chapter 85: Cave of Mystery

The titans of nature caused turmoil. Blistering heat from the sun's vicious radiance. Hurricanes swallowing land in the ocean's deadly maw.

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><p>It was a long journey to Dewford Island. The ferryman, Mr. Briney was not at the dock when Tia and Brendan arrived the evening after the gym battle. So the two had to camp out. He'd returned by the morning though. He apologized for the wait, saying he needed to ferry a group to Slateport City. Mr. Briney kept busy he explained.<p>

Tia and Brendan didn't mind though. The travel to Dewford took a bit over a day as well. Stopping once the sun set so they could sleep. Mr. Briney operated the ship all by himself. Aside from the help of his Wingull, Peeko. He was a pleasant, old man. Tia and Brendan listened to a lot of stories about Briney and Peeko exploring the seas in his youth. Regaling them with tales of the various sights and Pokemon he'd encountered in his life. It filled them both with even more yearning for adventure.

The morning came quickly. Tia and Brendan had spent most of the day before looking out at the ocean and seeing and the Pokemon and sights. It was breath taking for Tia. Her love of ships and the ocean were more than satisfied. She loved the feeling of the gentle sea air against her skin as she laid back in a longue chair on deck. Working on her tan.

Despite her initial gripes, Tia was back in her swimsuit. Her fair skin was now considerably tanner. She still had a way to go, but she was showing a noticeable difference in skin tone. She had always been pale so finally having some color was a nice change of pace for Tia.

While Tia tanned, Brendan got more shots of the ocean and the landmarks. Brendan got pictures of a school of Goldeen, a Wailord, a flock of Pelipper, and a strange rock formation he swore looked like a Sharpedo. He quickly got a shot of Tia tanning. "Hey Tia, check out this rock formation."

Tia lifted a pair of sunglasses she'd been wearing and looked at the pictures. "Rock formation? Really?" Tia chuckled, "I'm thinking Roxanne would be more interested in that." She took a closer look. "Huh, does kind of look like a Pokemon." She didn't really know Sharpedo by name, but looked familiar.

Brendan blushed, "I should send her a picture of this when we get to Dewford." He'd already promised to call her. "I bet she'd get a kick out of it."

Tia smiled, put her glasses back on and continued laying out in the sun. "You should, I bet she'd love to see it. She's probably really into Geology."

Brendan nodded, "Yeah. Hey Tia, you have a bit more experience with this. Should I get her a gift? Call her only so often?" Brendan wasn't expecting to ask Tia for dating advice, if that's really what it was. Even Brendan wasn't sure where to stand on this.

Tia smiled, "Sending her gifts is nice, but don't go overboard. As for when to call her, just ask her. Communication is the key to a good relationship. Trust me, I've learned that much." Mostly due to the lack there of in her case. "Just be yourself. That's clearly what she likes about you, so don't force it. It'll come naturally to you as you get used to it. For both of you." Tia had some pretty solid advice.

Brendan nodded, taking it all in. "Thanks Tia, I've never had a girlfriend. Actually, we never made it official. Am I jumping to conclusions?" Brendan started to panic.

"Breathe." Tia was at least being level headed.

Brendan gasped for air, "Sorry." Brendan picked up his camera and started taking more photos to ease his nerves. He looked through the view finder and saw a large land mass rapidly approaching. "That Dewford Island?"

"Land ho!" Mr. Briney shouted.

Tia hopped up out of her chair and looked at the island off in the distance. She was excited to finally get to the island. Her next gym battle was waiting. She didn't know what to expect, but that didn't worry Tia at all. She was going to take it head on and win. They gathered their things. Tia had her clothes in her fanny pack which she slung over her left shoulder. "One more thing before we land." Tia ran down below deck.

The ship landed and dropped anchor on the small dock. At first glance Dewford Island's city was not too big. It was all built on the beach so large wooden beams buried in the earth acted as supports for the structures' foundations. Swimmers, surfers, and sunbathers lined the beach to the right of the dock. It wasn't quite noon yet, but the beach was already packed.

Brendan stepped off the boat and waited for Tia. Tia reemerged wearing something else. She had the same swimsuit on, but was now wearing a red wrap around her waist with a decorative floral pattern. It was tied on the left keeping Tia's left leg revealed, but came down like a skirt to her right ankle.

Brendan nodded approvingly, "Nice sarong. When did you get that?"

Tia chuckled, "Wow, congrats on being the one guy who knows what this is called."

Brendan blushed, "How many times do I have to tell you. I've worked with models." He defended his knowledge of women's fashion.

Tia laughed, "I'm just giving you a hard time. I got it when Sabrina convinced me to get this suit." She stepped off the boat and onto the hot sand. She thankfully got a pair of tan sandals to go with her beach attire. "I'm gonna hit the beach." Tia pulled a towel out of her fanny pack and handed her fanny pack to Brendan.

"Alright, I was going to head to the Pokemon Center and call Roxanne anyway." Brendan took Tia's things and made his way to the Pokemon Center. He quickly got them a room and a couple keys to it. Brendan wanted to get some pictures of the beach and being dressed the way he was didn't make much sense. Tia was already in her swimsuit so he should be too.

Brendan quickly got changed and called up Roxanne. He made sure it was past noon before calling since he knew she'd be teaching class in the morning. He shook a little as he called her. Roxanne promptly answered. "Hello?" She didn't recognize the number, but she had an idea of who it was.

"Hey Roxanne. It's me, Brendan." He did his best to sound cool and aloof.

"Brendan, it's wonderful to hear from you. Did you just get to Dewford Island?" Roxanne sounded very happy to hear from him.

"Yeah, the ferry wasn't very fast, but we saw a lot of cool sights. Like this one rock formation that I swear looks like a Sharpedo." Brendan shared his finding with Roxanne.

Tia was right, she got a kick out of that. "Wow, I'd love to see that."

"I can email you a picture of it." Brendan offered.

"I would love that. Please do." She told him her personal email. He'll be sure to upload and send that picture once they are done talking. "So what do you have planned for the day?" She started up casual small talk.

"Well we have to find Steven Stone and give him a letter from his dad. Then Tia will probably want to run to the gym and get her badge." Brendan pretty much expected Tia to head to the gym after finding Steven. Which was fine with him. He wanted to stick around on the island a little bit though.

"Steven? Him and I are friends. We both love fossils. Growing up we use to collect fossils and rocks. He's a bit older than me so when I was a little girl he would read to me." Roxanne chirped. Growing up in the same town with very similar interests gave the two plenty of time to hang out. "When you see him tell him I said hello."

"Can do, I should get going though. Can I call you again tomorrow?" He figured he'd ask.

Roxanne chuckled, "Of course, you don't have to worry about that. If I don't answer though, it's probably because I'm in the middle of gym battle. I'll call you back as soon as I can though. Thank you for calling me, Brendan. It was nice talking to you."

"Anytime, have a nice day." He hung up, Brendan felt better about himself after taking with Roxanne. He quickly headed back downstairs and hoped on a PC. He sent Roxanne the picture with the title, _This picture rock! _He hoped she would get a kick out of that.

While Brendan had his fun, Tia was enjoying a little fun in the sun as well. She walked along the beach with her towel and was immediately drawing every guy's eye. Understandably so, she walked with a sway in her step. The red swimsuit highlighted her best features and showed off her newly tanned skin. Her crimson locks, athletic physique, and an aloof smile definitely conveyed Tia was confident.

Until she noticed everyone staring and immediately felt self-conscious. Why was everyone staring? She asked herself. They weren't just treating her like eye candy, right? Should she be flattered or unnerved? Perverts! All of them! Tia took her towel and planted herself on the beach. Sitting with her knees up and her arms wrapped around them like a ball.

Brendan eventually caught up and saw Tia in distress. "Tia, what's the matter?"

"All these perverts undressing me with their eyes. I'll kill'em all!" She angry shook her fist.

Brendan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tia, I think you're over exaggerating. They're just checking you out. It's no big deal."

"No big deal? Why is always no big deal with you?" She shouted. Tia's own insecurities were getting the better of her.

Brendan shook his head, "I hate to break it to you, but you're like the hottest girl on the beach right now." He said that in a completely platonic and objective manner.

"You take that back." Tia said as if he had offended her.

"Oh my god, why does this bother you so much? You are perfectly comfortable in your own body, but the second someone makes a comment about it, you freak out. You told me, Tom has taken it a step too far, but come on, I've been nothing but courtesy and tasteful. Yet you still treat me like _I'm_ the bad guy." Brendan was starting to get fed up with Tia's attitude on the matter.

Tia finally got up and stared Brendan down, "Do you have any idea what's it like growing up with these?" Tia pointed to her chest. "Being treated like eye candy or some trophy? Teenage boys leering at you? I developed faster than most girl my age and trust me, teenage girls are ruthless! Petty jealousy. Making fun of my body. Starting nasty rumors. It was endless." Tia was venting all her frustration now. "I took cooking class since I was thirteen and apparently since I was a good cook and mature for my age, my one lot in life was trophy wife! Not because of my talents or interest, but because I was a girl with big boobs and a cute face!" Tia was fuming.

Brendan was at a loss for words. He would never had imagined the kind of discrimination Tia faced. Heck, most woman he encountered used those very same assets to their advantage. Tia was in a very difficult spot. She put a lot of stock in what those around her thought. Not out of vanity or vainness, but because she cared what others thought. The life of a trainer wasn't judged off looks, but ability. Tia was probably so much happier as a trainer because of that fact. Still, looking her best for her own self-gratification came at a price.

"Don't have anything to say? I didn't think so." She scowled.

"You're right. I never considered it from your perspective. At least, not from _that _perspective. I know too many women who capitalize on everything you oppose. I wouldn't call them wrong. Looks fade of course, at the end of the day it's about how you feel about yourself. That doesn't mean everyone's just interested in you for your looks." Brendan defended his point of view.

Tia sighed and laid back, "I know, and sorry I kind of went off on you. You've so far been the antitheses of all those guys." Tia did have to commend Brendan on that one.

"I try. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the vanity. I made a lot more friends when I actually got to know the people I worked with." Brendan sighed, "We should probably go find Steven now."

"Go without me, I'm not really in the mood right now." This was for the best, tension was a bit hot right now between them. Brendan nodded and walked off. He did have the letter after all. He left Tia without a word. She just frowned and lied back on her towel. She wanted to work on her tan more and maybe swim a bit later.

Tia had to admit that Brendan was at least partially right. Not that she wanted to admit it. He didn't know her struggles or what she had to put up with. Her merits as a trainer were all that matter to her. Vanity came second and was entirely for her own gratification. She briefly thought of Tom. Tia couldn't imagine the burden of always knowing how people felt. Having to feel it directed at him or ignoring it.

Tia wasn't alone for long though. A shadow over casted her, "Excuse me, you're in my sun." She said politely.

The figure, a young man, quickly sidestepped. "Sorry about that. I actually came over to talk to you." Tia sat up and reclined against her right arm. She lifted her sun glasses to get a better look at the guy talking to her. He had spiked sky, blue hair and eyes. He was dressed like an athlete with his tight body suit, fingerless gloves, and baggy, blue shorts. "I noticed you and had to come over and say something." He explained.

"What do you have to say?" Tia could see it coming from a mile always. Just another guy checking her out. She at least polite enough to give him a fair shot. Maybe he won't just be like so many other guys before?

"Well, I saw you from the ocean and had to come over. You are one of the finest girls on the beach." He said with a suave smile.

Tia sighed. Of course. "I appreciate, but if that's all you've got say-"

"Not in the creepy way like you were shouting at that guy for." He clarified before Tia could finish.

Tia turned flush, "Oh god, you heard that?"

"Yeah… I'm pretty sure everyone heard that. You really laid into that guy. Who was he? Some guy creeping on you?" He had to ask. Even though he was a total stranger to Tia, he didn't stand for guys like that.

"No, honestly he's the exact opposite. He's a really nice guy who just wanted to help. I need to apologize to him." Tia confessed.

"He your boyfriend?" The guy sat down beside Tia.

"No, just a friend I'm travelling with. He meant well, I was just being a jerk. My name's Tia, by the way." Tia politely introduced herself.

"Pleasure's mine, Brawly." He shook Tia's hand. "Still mean what I said. You've got an awesome bod. You must really work out to keep that figure." Brawly was more fixated on her toned stomach and arms.

Tia chuckled, "I try my best. I love to run. My routine's usually just sit ups and pushups. You look pretty athletic yourself."

Brawly gave Tia a winning smile. "You know it. I love swimming and surfing. I lift to keep up my strength too. Gotta be strong, just like my Pokemon." Brawly flexed his muscles.

"I'm guessing you're a Fighting Type fan." Tia chuckled.

"Absolutely, we go big or go home in my gym." Brawly proudly declared.

"Oh so you're the Dewford Island gym leader?" Tia was in luck running into him. "I'm actually challenging the Hoenn League myself right now."

"Nice, so you're after my gym badge. Don't think I'll just hand it over because you've got a pretty face." Brawly joked, using her words.

"I'd be insulted if you did." Tia was liking Brawly already. He wasn't just some muscle bound jock. "Just hope you put a good fight like Chuck from Cianwood." Tia casually brings up her master. The man who taught her everything she now held as ideals.

"You know Chuck? Sweet! Chuck's, like, my idol!" Brawly was very spirited about this now. "I've always wanted to train with him."

Tia laughed, "I trained with him and he's brutal I'll tell you what."

"No way, _you _trained with Chuck. No wonder you're in such good shape. I heard he's relentless. I heard he doesn't take students though."

"He took one student." Tia winked, "It was for my special training though."

Brawly stared wide eyed. "No way, you're his student too. You're getting cooler by the second Tia. Does that mean you're an Adept?" Brawly actually surprised her with that one.

"Yeah, how did you know? I didn't think many people knew about Adepts." Tia knew this for sure. Tia closed her eyes and focused on Brawly. A light slowly started burning. It grew and grew. It was like a brilliant flame inside his body.

"You've got a lot of Ki too." Brawly mimicked Tia. He could see her Ki. "I think you're getting the picture." Brawly opened his eyes.

"You're an Adept too?" Tia was definitely excited to meet another Adept. Especially one her own age.

"Yeah, I've read a little about them, but it's awesome to meet another. I heard Chuck was one too." Brawly was just as excited to meet another Adept. Even more so, because Tia was the first one he'd met. "Hey, want to hit the water and we can talk more?"

Tia nodded and took off her sunglasses, sandals, and sarong. "Race ya." Tia hopped up and broke out into a sprint towards the water. She was feeling a lot better now.

Meanwhile, Brendan was on the lookout for Steven. One trainer informed him that Steven was last seen heading into the Granite Cave. Brendan wasted no time. The cave wasn't very large admittedly. Looked like a huge portion of it was carved out either naturally or by man over the centuries. The first chamber didn't have much to it. Just some wild Pokemon. The all too common Zubat, with Geodude, and the occasional Makuhita and Aron.

Brendan was intrigued by the cave. So he made sure to get some photos. It looked like they were some gen stones buried in the walls. Rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. He only wished he had a pickaxe to mine them out with. Brendan kept up his search for Steven and eventually found a passage into a much larger room.

In the middle a young man with light, steel blue hair stood examining a giant mural carved into the rock. He talked to himself, "I see, so in ancient times these Super-ancient Pokemon may have possessed different forms. What a tremendous power." The murals before him were of monstrously large Pokemon. One painted in red next to a volcano. The other in blue with a colossal wave. The one in red stood on two legs, while the other had a pair of fins on its sides and a tail.

Steven turned around and noticed Brendan. "Why hello. You are?"

Brendan stammered a bit, "Hi, I'm Brendan Birch."

"Brendan Birch? Is your father prof. Birch?" He asked, Brendan simply nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Brendan. I'm Steven Stone. I'm interested in rare rocks and ancient Pokemon history. It's what brought me to this cave. What brings you here?" Steven politely informed him.

"I was looking for you actually. Your dad had this letter for you. He wanted me to find you since I was heading to Dewford Island." Brendan handed off the letter.

Steven smiled and took the letter. "Your timing couldn't have been better; I was leaving soon." He paused to read the letter. Brendan in the meantime looked over the mural. "I see, this does complicate matters a bit." He turned his head back up towards Brendan. "Thank you very much Brendan. Here, this is a token of my appreciation." Steven held out a Pokeball.

Brendan stammered again, "A Pokemon? I mean, I couldn't. I just delivered you a letter."

Steven smiled politely, "Yes, but this letter was very important. Plus, I want to see what you can do with this Pokemon. I'm not a huge believer in fate, but something tells me we were meant to meet today." Steven spoke in an oddly cryptic manner, "I can't really explain it myself." He just felt that Brendan was someone important.

"Thank you." Brendan smiled, feeling strangely empowered by Steven's words. He called out the Pokemon. It was a small Steel Type. It floated above the ground and had a single eye on its cylindrical body. "A Beldum?" Brendan knew this Pokemon well. The first stage evolution of the incredibly powerful Metagross. "Wow, this is a huge honor Steven."

Steven dismissed this, "Don't mention it. Now, I should be going." Both Brendan and Steven exited the cave.

"Oh I almost forgot. Roxanne wanted me to say hello." Brendan remembered what he'd promised to her.

Steven nodded, "Roxanne, yes her and I go way back. Are you a friend of hers?"

"Something like that." Brendan still didn't know what to call it. She wasn't his girlfriend, but they were close, or getting close to one another. "There's another friend of mine I'd like to introduce you to though."

"Oh?" Steven was curious so he followed.

Brendan went back to where Tia was sunbathing, but all that was there was her supplies. "Where'd she go?" He looked out and saw Tia swimming with a few other people. He jumped and waved, hoping to get her attention.

Tia saw Brendan waving from the beach. "There's Brendan. I should go apologize to him." Tia told Brawly.

Brawly looked out. "Hey that's Steven right next to him."

"No way, so he found Steven. Sweet! I gotta talk to him." Tia and Brawly raced back to the shore and ran across the beach. "Hey Brendan."

"Hey Tia, I'm sure you know who this is by now." Brendan motioned to Steven. It made since, why else would she be racing so excitedly.

"Steven Stone, it's a pleasure Tia." He politely shook her hand.

"Pleasure's all mine. I was hoping to run into you." Tia couldn't help feeling like a total fan girl. One, he was the region's champion. So he was an incredibly strong trainer. Two, he was a very handsome man upon closer inspection.

"Hey Steven." Brawly said casually. "What brings you around these parts?"

"Brawly. I was investigating the Granite Cave and scouting new talent apparently." He looked back to Brendan and Tia. "Tom's spoken very highly of you, Tia."

Tia blushed, "He has? I mean I'm still kind of new to this." She modestly replied.

"Yes, but I can tell both of you are bound for great things. I'm willing to bet. I look forward to seeing how you both progress." Steven had a feeling they met for a reason. He's now interested to see what that reason was. "Well, I must be off now. Go Latios." Steven held out a Pokeball and called his Pokemon.

Latios floated before them. Tia looked amazed, "Wow, never seen a Latios before." Tia took out her Pokedex to see what data there was on Latios. "Huh? That's two away from both Regice and Rayquaza?"

"Yeah, that's because Latios is a legendary Pokemon!" Brendan snapped a picture of Latios. This was Brendan's first time seeing a legendary Pokemon. Especially one this close.

"My question is when have you seen Rayquaza and Regice?" He knew who had those Pokemon. So Rayquaza was fairly obvious.

"Oh I've seen Tom battle with Rayquaza. Heck, he let me use it one time. Had to fight off Team Cipher at the Lake of Rage. I fought Pryce and his Regice to get my gym badge. It was tough, but I won." Tia has mentioned this more times than she can count by now, but she still felt excited talking about her win over a legendary Pokemon.

Steven paused and gave a reserved laughed. "I think it's become clear why we met today. Those are both outstanding achievements. You wouldn't happen to be a legendary trainer would you?"

The term seemed foreign to Tia somehow. It's obvious what he was implying, but she'd never heard them being referred to like that. "No, but a lot of people I know are. Including my brother Red and dad Noland."

Steven gave another reserved laugh, "You don't say? A former champion and one of Hoenn's own Frontier Brains. I look forward to meeting you both again someday down the line." Steven climbed on Latios's back and waved goodbye before speeding off into the sky.

"That was so cool." Brendan made sure to get a picture of Steven and Latios taking off too.

"You're telling me. I really want to battle him now. Hey Brawly, you ready for that gym battle?" Tia turned back to her new friend and future opponent.

Brawly laughed, "That's what I like to hear. I'm ready when you are Tia." He gave her the thumbs up.

"Awesome, I'm gonna head back to the center and wash up then I'll head for the gym." Tia ran off towards the Pokemon Center.

"Aces, see you then." Brawly ran to the gym.

Brendan gathered Tia's supplies. "Tia, you forgot your stuff!" He chased after her, but she wasn't listening. She was too excited to get her next gym badge. Another badge meant another step closer to facing off with Steven Stone.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Well, we finally got our introduction to Steven Stone. One of the best champions in my opinion. I look forward to having more of him around. I also liked writing Brawly. I also am glad I got to give Tia this chance to finally really let out all her frustrations towards how she feels and how people view her. It gives more dimension to her character and mindset.<p> 


	88. Chapter 86: A Gym Battle Brawl

Chapter 86: A Gym Battle Brawl

The Super-ancient fought endlessly night and day. The battle that forged the Earth as people and Pokemon knew it.

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><p>After a quick run back to the Pokemon Center to wash up and change, Tia was ready for her second Hoenn League gym battle. The knowledge of Brawly being an Adept in hand Tia knew it wouldn't be an easy battle. That didn't scare Tia of course.<p>

She finished doing her hair and grabbed her supplies. "So you taking on the gym too Brendan?" Tia pretty much knew his answer already. Brendan didn't seem to satisfied with his last gym battle.

Brendan shook his head, "I'll pass. That's more your thing. I'll be sure to get plenty of pictures of you and Brawly instead." He held up his camera.

Tia grinned, "That's fine with me. After meeting Steven, I'm more fired up than ever." The stepped outside, it was a bit hotter now, but the sea breeze was still a huge relief. "By the way, where do we go from Dewford Island?" Tia started up a little small talk on the way to the gym.

"Slateport City is the nearest port city. Mr. Briney said that's his other stop. From there we head North to Mauville City. The third Hoenn League gym is there." That would be quite a trip for sure. Another half a day just to get to Slateport at the rate Briney travelled. The two didn't mind the relaxed pace though. "You're not thinking of leaving once you get your badge are you?" He knew Tia was eager, but Brendan really wanted to enjoy the island for at least another day.

Tia actually agreed with his thought process. "No, I want another day to at least train after this, and you know hang out too. I love the beach and ocean." She was almost giddier to swim and relax in the sun than getting her gym badge.

"I noticed," Brendan chuckled, "why is that?"

"When I was a little girl growing up in Pallet. Gary, my brother, and I would go swimming in the town lake. It wasn't very deep, but we loved it. When I was around seven my dad took the whole family on a cruise. Red and I were so excited we stayed up the entire night before poring over the pages of a book about the S.S. Aqua." Tia said with a nostalgic smile. "We still have the book. Heck, I could probably tell you every detail about that ship. The S.S. Anne too." Tia let out a giggle.

"We all have our hobbies. So cooking and ships. They are pretty cool." Brendan commented before they entered the gym.

Brawly stood waiting by the entrance. "Hey you made it just in time. Alright, so here's the deal. I set up obstacles in the way. Don't just vault over them." Brawly pointed down the long hallway of his gym. There was all matter of fitness equipment in the way. "On the left and right sides there are doors to blacked out rooms. You have to successfully navigate through the rooms as well as fight off my gym trainers. Once you reach the end, I'll be waiting to battle you." The rules were pretty simple all things considered.

"Got it. Don't get too comfortable. I'll be there before you know it." Tia shot Brawly a cocky grin.

"Alright, I'll be waiting. Brendan, you can come wait with me." Brawly stepped on a tiles and instantly teleported away.

"Whoa! How did he do that without Teleport?" Tia was mystified.

"It's a warp tile. Remember when I told you about Devon Corp. and Infinite Energy? Well, this is one of the common uses of it in Hoenn." Brendan explained.

"Oh right, we should have asked President Stone about how that worked when we had the chance." Tia noted. "Well, see you in a bit Brendan."

Brendan nodded and stepped on the warp tile. He appeared in front of Brawly. "That chick's got a lot of spirit." Brawly added.

Brendan smirked, "You're telling me. She's probably got a huge weight on her shoulders with all the strong trainers she wants to catch up to."

"No kidding, and she's doing it at trail blazing speeds too." Brawly noticed Tia basically had one speed when she was serious. Ultra-high. Tia was definitely not a girl who did anything halfway. "Let's see how she does against my trainers."

Tia made her way through the darkness, making sure to not run into anything or trip. "You're doing good so far." A girl's voice called out. Suddenly the lights flipped on. The voice came from a battle girl dressed in an orange sports bra and bike shorts. She had long, blue hair done up in a ponytail. "Hey, name's Tessa. I'll be your opponent." She exuded confidence.

Tia smirked, "Alright, my name's Tia. Sorry, but I can't lose to you." She pulled out her Pokeball. "Go Marshtomp!"

Tessa nodded, "Well sorry, I'm not going to be that easy. Go Meditite!" A small blue and white Pokemon emerged and sat in a meditative pose.

"A Meditite?" Tia checked it out with her Pokedex. "_The Meditate Pokemon? Psychic and Fighting?_ Sweet where can I get myself one?" Tia was excited to see Meditite in action.

Tessa smiled, "You like? I caught mine on Mt. Pyre just South of Lilycove City." The time for talk was over though. "Anyway, let's start this. Meditite use Confusion." Meditite got to its feet and started waving its hands as psychic distortions lashed out toward Mudkip.

"Marshtomp use Water Gun." Water Gun aimed right for the Confusion. The two attacks collided and released a burst of energy. "Tackle!" Tia had Marshtomp run head on into the battlefield.

"Detect, Meditite." With a gleam in its eye, Meditite successfully evaded the attack. "Now Confusion." Side stepping behind Marshtomp, Meditite attacked the wide open Marshtomp. The blast knocked Marshtomp to the ground, but Tia smiled.

"We can thank Roxanne for this one. Rock Tomb!" Marshtomp conjured large boulders which came crashing down on Meditite's head. Burying it in the rocks to further slow it down. "Water Gun." Tia snapped her finger and pointed to Meditite. In a total wash out Meditite flew out from the rocks from the force of the powerful Water Gun. It laid before Tessa, fainted.

Tessa smirked, "Very impressive. I got to hand it to you, Tia. You're a strong trainer. You also look pretty strong too." She said from one battle girl to another.

"Likewise, return Marshtomp. Go Shroomish!" Tia figured her newest team member needed a bit more experience.

"Shroomish? Bet you can't wait until that little one evolves into Breloom." Tessa called out her next Pokemon. "Machop go."

"I honestly don't know a lot about Hoenn's Pokemon yet, but I'm excited to see what Shroomish evolves into. I bet you'd love to evolve Machop all the way up to Machamp." The two were bonding over their love of Fighting Types.

Brawly watched from the surveillance cameras. "Well those two have become fast friends. I guess they found kinder spirits in their fighting spirits."

"Tia definitely takes that seriously." Brendan commented.

Tia and Tessa were locked in an intense battle. Shroomish charged in dodging Karate Chop after Karate Chop. Shroomish used Tackle when it could, but Tia had another idea too. She was waiting for the perfect opening. She knew it would be hard to pull off with how much Machop was moving. She didn't want to just take a hit to get the attack to work either.

At once Tia saw her chance. A tiny window was about to present itself. A brief second when Machop was recovering from its Karate Chop. Tia waited patiently and struck. "Now, Stun Spore!" On Tia's command Shroomish sprayed paralyzing spores on Machop. It's body seized up slight as it winced. "Absorb!"

Shroomish Absorbed the last bit of health Machop had as it fell to its knees. The battle was over and Tia won. Tessa called back her Pokemon, "Very good, Machop." She looked down at the Pokeball in hand and back up to Tia. "Well, you won. You may now pass. There are a few others like me, but you're on your way to Brawly." Tessa informed Tia and stepped aside.

"Thanks, that was fun. We should battle again sometime." Tia offered a hand.

Tessa smiled and shook Tia's hand. "I'd like that. Good luck with your battle against Brawly." She had no doubt Tia was going all the way.

Brawly looked impressed with Shroomish's display, and Tia's strategic and spur of the moment decision making skills. "Hey Brendan, what do you know about Tia as a trainer anyway?"

Brendan shrugged, "Not a whole lot honestly. I just know she's apparently really strong for someone who's only been doing this for about a year. She was also able to control Rayquaza for a brief time. As well as beat two other legendary Pokemon."

Brawly's jaw practically hit the floor. "She's beaten legendary Pokemon?"

"She's seen a lot more than that too. That was with her other Pokemon though. She also knows a ton of strong trainers too. She's got connections." Brendan further clarified.

"Awesome," Brawly was a little intimidated now. "Well, I'm no slouch either. So I'm ready for a match to remember." Brawly stood patiently. Knowing it was only a matter of time before Tia came to him.

Tia fought her way through the few other trainers in her way towards Brawly. Tia was glad she had stocked up on Potions and other healing items when she did. Gyms in Hoenn were a bit different than the old school gyms of Kanto and Johto.

"You've done a good job making it this far Tia, but I'm not going to let you walk out of here with my badge that easily." Brawly cracked his knuckles.

"I'd be insulted if you did. Let's do this. Adept versus Adept." Tia was so excited she was exuding Ki.

Brawly could feel the pressure. "Woah, never knew an Adept could do that."

Tia smirked, "I call it Ki Pressure. I created myself. I came up with it after watching Empaths."

"Even cooler. Maybe I should be calling you master." Brawly joked. "Alright, go Machop."

"Let's do this Shroomish." Tia and Brawly were both ready for an intense match. "Start off with a Tackle!" Tia and Shroomish go in swinging.

"Bulk Up!" Machop stood its ground and boosted its own strengths and defense. Shroomish's Tackle was greatly weakened. "Karate Chop!" Brawly shouted.

Tia smirked, "Stun Spore." She didn't implement this play with Tessa, but Tia knew Brawly wouldn't fall for the same trick. So she had Shroomish take the hit to further hinder his Pokemon. The hit to Machop's speed was very helpful and well worth the damage.

Brawly smirked however, "Looks like someone forgot a certain Pokemon's ability."

Tia's eyes widened, "Guts. How could I have forgotten about that?" It was still under the effects of paralysis, but it's attacks were now going to be fifty percent stronger.

"That's right. Now give it another Karate Chop." Machop ran up to Shroomish.

"Strategic withdraw. Shroomish get out of there." Shroomish was thankfully faster, but Tia needed a new plan quick. She knew Absorb was a safe option, but it'd take forever. Not that Tackle with the defense boost was going to be much better. Tia wasn't ready to go into Marshtomp yet though.

"What's the matter Tia? You seem nervous." He goaded her playfully.

Tia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "_Okay think._" Tia needed a strategy. A thousand different ideas and outcomes were pouring through her mind. She needed something for sure that would ensure the win. She finally had it. "Shroomish run up to Machop." Shroomish trusted Tia and ran for Machop.

"A direct approach? I'm not going to complain. Karate Chop!" Brawly ordered.

Shroomish was drawing closer. She needed a few more feet. Tia carefully measured out every inch she could. "Jump!" She shouted urgently. Shroomish vaulted clear over Machop's head. "Tackle!" As Shroomish landed behind Machop and lunged towards its back.

Machop stumbled forward and turned towards Shroomish. "Karate Chop!"

"_Come on._" Tia's luck would hopefully pay off now more than ever. Machop stopped dead in its tracks. Paralyzed. "Yes! Now, Absorb!" Tia seized the chance to drain the last of Machop's health away.

"Lady lucky was in your favor." Brawly smirked. Not knowing Tia was absurdly lucky to begin with. "That luck's about to run out though. Go Makuhita!"

"Alright Shroomish we have to be careful with this one." Tia could already tell Makuhita was much tougher.

"Hey Tia, wanna do me a solid and paralyze him too?" Brawly laughed.

"Funny, Tackle it Shroomish." Tia commanded.

"Alright, let's start with an Arm Thrust." Makuhita raised its arms and waited for Shroomish. Shroomish drove its head into Makuhita, Makuhita took it in stride and started punching into Shroomish getting a few solid blows.

Tia knew one more good hit was all it was going to take. "Shroomish, you should have enough experience now. Use Leech Seed." Tia was banking on this. Shroomish stood still as a small seed of light sprouted from his head.

"Knock Off!" Makuhita charged forward, but Shroomish was successful. The seed flew out and stuck to Makuhita. The health siphoned was not nearly enough to save Shroomish, but at least Marshtomp was going to be getting some healing in.

"Great job Shroomish. Now your turn Marshtomp." Tia knew this wasn't going to be easy even with her newly evolved starter.

"Bulk Up!" Brawly uppercut the air in excitement. "This is an exciting match Tia."

"You got that right. Marshtomp use Growl." Marshtomp couldn't neutralize the defense boost, but got Makuhita's attack down.

"Aw you're no fun. Knock Off, Makuhita." Makuhita charged forward.

"Water Gun." Now Tia could have Marshtomp keep his distance.

Makuhita powered through the Water Gun though. Jumping towards Marshtomp with the Knock Off. "Perfect." Brawly smirked.

"Crap the Oran Berry." Tia was hoping to use that as her contingency plan in the events Marshtomp was knocked too low on health. The Leech Seed was helping, but only a little. "Alright, if that's how we're playing it. Rock Tomb."

"Dodge it!" Makuhita evaded a few of the rocks, but one got it good. Still shaking it off, "Arm Thrust!" Makuhita lunged at Marshtomp. It got a couple hits, but Marshtomp braced himself. Siphoning a little more health in the process.

"Water Gun again!" Tia wasn't about to give up. She knew she had to be wearing Makuhita down by now.

Brawly grinned, "Let's make this next hit count. "Knock Off!" Brawly put his spirit into this hit. His Ki flowing into Makuhita. The Knock Off was a powerful critical blow.

"Oh so that's how we're playing it?" Tia could see that last hit was devastating. So it was going to come down to this. Another Rock Tomb could do it, or Water Gun. "Okay, Water Gun!"

"Knock Off!" Makuhita took the attack in stride. Brawly used all the Ki he could to keep Makuhita standing. Eventually Makuhita connected with Marshtomp. The powerful eruption of water wasn't going to stop it.

Marshtomp wasn't going down so easily either. The knock off hit him right in the stomach. Doubling over, while Makuhita did the same.

Slowly Makuhita began to get up. Rising to its feet, Makuhita raised its arms and slowly fell back. Brawly sweating up a storm. Next Marshtomp got up, but Tia, who was also sweating smiled, "Looks like we won." Marshtomp stood and continued standing victoriously. In an almost mirrored situation to Tia's battle with Chuck, it all came down to a war of attrition.

Brawly nodded and produced his gym badge. "You're right. As proof of your victory in this totally awesome gym battle. I award you the Knuckle Badge." He handed Tia her prize.

Tia smiled and showed it to Marshtomp. "We did it! Two badges down!"

Brendan clapped, "Great job Tia."

"Thanks Brendan." Tia grinned from ear to ear.

"Also, here's TM08 Bulk Up." Brawly handed it off to Tia as well.

"Perfect. Now, if you don't mind. I'm starving." Tia and Brawly both laughed.

"I hear ya. See you around Tia." Brawly waved goodbye and went to the back of his gym.

"See ya." Tia ran to the door with food on her mind and Brendan close behind. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? One thing was for sure, Tia was going to face it head on.

* * *

><p>Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Please don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter, the series, and the Pokemon Sagas Universe as a whole. Two badge's down it only took ten chapters. Funny enough it took Johto eleven and Kanto nine. So the pace has been pretty similar. Hoenn's still going ot be a lot longer overall by the end though.<p> 


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